A New Legend
by TragicMagic14
Summary: Welcome to Hylia Academy, the richest, most exclusive school in Hyrule. I was forced to go to this over-the-top school by my father, who I know means well, but ended up sending me to place with a creepy red-eyed guy and girl who always manage to be around when something bad happens. Did I mention a boy I know for a fact I've never met, but have dreamed about is also attending? AU
1. A Warm Welcome

**Chapter 1 – A Warm Welcome**

"So, Zel, what do you think?"

I stepped out of the long, stretch limousine I had been previously seated in, and crossed my arms with a sigh.

"It's very… flashy and… well, to be honest, prissy." I said as I gazed at the huge stucco building looming in front of me.

But this wasn't just any honking, stucco building, oh no; this was HyliaAcademy, the richest, most exclusive boarding school in Hyrule… Hell, probably in the world. See, I'd gotten an invitation roughly ten weeks ago which formally invited me to spend a year at the world's biggest concentration of snotty brats this side of the world has seen, a.k.a. Hylia Academy. The place absolutely _reeked _of money and pretension, what with the huge freaking roman-style pillars that held up a giant balcony decked out with various expensive (and completely unnecessary) garden statues and fountains – And this is just the balcony! The rest of the school was equally as flashy and expensive, making my stomach twist uneasily.

"This coming from a girl who arrived here in a stretch limo?" My stepmother, Impa, smirked next to me.

Stereotypes aside, Impa was a cool, totally-not-evil stepmother who actually put effort into relating and getting along with me. She filled the empty space my mother had left – Granted, Mom does call three times a week to fill me in on her exciting new life and to tell me how much she misses me.

I huffed. "I wanted to take just a normal car, but you insisted on us taking the limo!"

And by 'insisted', I really mean 'forced'. Impa had quite literally picked me up and thrown me into the limousine, meanwhile yelling at the driver to "Go! Go! Go!".

Impa laughed. "This is so much more fun, my dear."

I closed the limo door before the driver could, and leaned against it, staring up at my new home for the next ten months.

"Why exactly do I have to attend this place again?" I asked.

Impa leaned on the door next to me. "Well, because it has great teachers and it's what your father wanted."

Right, my father. As if I even know him. I mean, he was trying to establish a relationship, but it just… didn't work. After the divorce, he and I just… drifted apart and haven't exactly rekindled the whole 'father-daughter' thing. It's not like they were even bitter about divorcing, my parents are friends for the love of Farore! It's just that I had spent five years of my life up until a year ago living with my mom in a middle-class home, and going to a regular school. But, around last October, my mom had decided she wanted to chase her dreams, so she moved to New York to become an actress. She'd asked me if I wanted to come with her, but I declined.

As if was going to leave my life behind because she had decided that being a dentist wasn't a satisfying career anymore.

So, rather than do that, I moved in with my father who lived close by my school, but I had very limited knowledge about his actual life. I mean, we visited a lot but, I realized after moving in that I knew nothing about my father. I didn't even know what his job was, only that it was something political, that apparently rolled in the cash. I got to finish the school year with all my friends, in a nice, big house with a lot of expensive crap that I totally don't need. I was happy, maybe didn't have the best relationship with my Dad, but I was shallowly happy.

Then the letter came. The invitation from HyliaAcademy. Well, suddenly, what I wanted didn't matter anymore. I was to go to this school, regardless of whether I was willing or not. I honestly don't understand why my father was so insistent that I attend this place, I mean, he seemed just fine with having me at my old school with all my friends. But then this random letter arrives, and suddenly it's like my old school taught demonic sacrifice or something. When I refused to attend Hylia, Dad was livid. And I am not exaggerating.

He tried to bribe me at first, and when that didn't work, he threatened me. If I wasn't to go to this school, I would be immediately shipped over to the States and I wouldn't be able to return to Hyrule for a year. Talk about harsh! (But I guess he _is _a politician.)

And what Michael Harkinian wants, he gets, which is unfortunate for his defiant teenage daughter, Zelda Harkinian.

I sighed and watched as several other kids hopped out of limos all around me, paying me no attention.

_Well,_ I thought wryly. _At least I won't stick out._

Which was, at my old school, basically all I did, since my father had taken me to school almost every day in either a limo or some other type of unnecessarily flashy ride. It seemed at this school, I would only blend into the background.

"Your schedule," Impa's voice broke whatever spell I was apparently under, as she handed me a piece of paper. "Your room and dorm number is in the top, right corner, and the meal times are listed here," She points to the bottom of the page. "The rest is pretty self-explanatory."

I nodded as I observed a few of our many butlers carrying my humungous trunk into one of the school's dorms. It bugged me, what if my trunk accidentally opened? The horrible mental picture of all my underwear spilling on the ground for everyone to see plagued my mind as I watched them carry my bags inside.

"You okay, Zeld?" Impa asked, concern lacing her voice.

I looked up at her and smiled. "I'm good."

She didn't seem convinced.

"Seriously," I said, flicking a blond hair from my face. "I'm fine with all this."

"If you really don't like it here, Zelda," Impa said, patting my shoulder. "I could talk to your father—"

As much as I wanted to accept her offer and go home, I didn't. Besides, there is no way Dad's budging about this one.

I waved my hand dismissively. "Really, it's fine. I'm actually sort of excited." _Biggest lie ever…_

I was sure I hadn't fooled her, but Impa merely sighed as the butlers walked back toward the limo. "Okay. Just…" she paused, as if looking for the right words. "Don't be afraid to call me or your father if you want to come home."

I sent her a tight smile. "I won't."

"Okay, if you say so." Impa hugged me tightly. "Be good and don't break anything too expensive."

I grinned up at her. "I make no promises."

She laughed and shook her head. "Brat."

I smiled, glad that my stepmother's mood was better.

"I know." I agreed as Impa ducked back into the limo.

"Call us!" She cried out the open window as the limo drove away.

I shook my head and glanced down at my schedule, finger tracing the timetable that outlined my classes. First semester; I had English first period, French second, Lunch, then History. Second semester; I had Art first period, Gym second, Lunch again, then Science last. I started walking, still staring down at my schedule intently.

_Hmm… _I thought to myself. _I wonder what my teachers are like? _

My thoughts were interrupted as I crashed into someone and landed gracefully on my ass.

I looked up to find a beautiful goddess-like girl standing over me. Her skin was really fair, and her hair the exact opposite, being pitch-black. Her eyes shone the oddest shade I'd ever seen, a deep, blood-red. There was an unmistakable glare twisting her pretty features as she glowered at me. How exactly can one glare at another but still be way more gorgeous than said other could ever hope to be? I considered the possibility that she just woke up every morning looking like she was straight out of a shampoo commercial, with rose petals fluttering gracefully around her everywhere she walked.

"Watch where you walk, klutz." She sneered, scowling at me as if I was a bug that she had every intention of squashing.

_Okay._ I thought irritably. _Not rose petals, probably bats or flying monkeys._

I shook my head, attempting to shake away all the bitchy comments I had on the tip of my tongue.

"Get up." The pretty girl continued as she gingerly stepped around me. "You look really pathetic sitting there."

Anger flared in me but I kept quiet, fuming to myself as the mean girl strut away like she owned the place, which she might've. At this school, you just never know.

"Need a hand?" A voice said.

I looked up to see a dark-skinned girl with red hair smiling down at me, her hand extended. She seemed like the type of person who didn't care what those around her thought. She dressed differently than most students, in ripped up clothes that still probably cost a fortune, black combat boots and black-leather fingerless gloves. Her long red hair was tied back into a tight pony-tail that still reached past her hips. I wondered how long her hair was not tied back.

I took her hand and she hauled me to my feet.

"Thank you, uh…" I began.

"Nabooru. Nabooru Kingsford." She introduced.

_Strange name…_ I thought to myself. _But then again, it's not like my names anything better._

"Hi… Nabooru." I said, the name feeling oddly familiar in my mouth. "I'm Zelda Harkinian."

Nabooru shakes my hand. "Nice to meet 'cha."

"So, that girl I just –" I started, but was cut off.

"That's Sabrina Dragmire. She's the adopted daughter of the school principal, and along with her adoptive brother, she's practically untouchable." Nabooru crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess that's how she gets away with being the bitchiest thing the world has ever seen. I'd stay away from her if I were you."

"Don't have to tell me twice." I muttered.

"So, what grade you in?" She asked.

I looked up at her, surprised for some reason. "Eleven. You?"

Nabooru shook a few stray hairs from her face. "Same. You're in dorm 3-G, right?"

I glanced down at the schedule I held tightly in my hands. "Yeah, how did you—?"

"'Swhere most eleventh grade girls go, unless they're part of the super-exclusive crowd." She pointed across the campus to a largish stucco building. "I live there too. Room 132."

I nodded, wondering if by some insane miracle, I'd already made a friend.

"Well, I'll see ya." Nabooru said abruptly. "'Have to meet with the principal for… something."

I wondered what exactly that 'something' was, but decided not to press, because how creepy would that be? _Hi we just met, please tell me your life story and every secret you have. Kay thanks! _

"See you." I said faintly as she walked off, turning my attention back to the paper I had clenched in my hands.

A flash of black caught my attention from the corner of my eye. Leaning up against the main school building, only about fifteen feet away, was a guy with pitch-black hair and startling crimson eyes. He was surveying the school parking lot, as if searching for someone specifically. Abruptly, his red eyes flickered to me, and a slow, creepy grin spread across his face. I shivered and looked away, picking up speed as I made my way to my dorm.

* * *

I stood outside room 126, nervousness building as I wondered about my roommate.

_Would she be cool? Will she be weird? Will she like me? Will she hate me_? A thousand unanswered questions bounced around in my skull. _Knock on the door and find out, for Din's sake!_

I swallowed and knocked on the door.

"In a minute!" Someone called from the other side.

I instinctively stroked my fingers over my birthmark on the back of my right hand, marvelling at how strange it was. The mark was three joined triangles, one of which was a slightly darker shade of skin than the other two. Really, it was bizarre. When I used to ask my mom about it, she would smile and say "_must be a gift from the Goddess', my dear."_

My flashback was cut short when the door swung open, a tall, willowy redhead standing in the doorframe.

"Oh." I said, jumping a bit from surprise.

The redhead smiles. "You're my roommate, right?" She asked.

"I think so." I said, hoping dearly that I hadn't somehow made a mistake and knocked on the wrong door. "Room 126?" I asked.

She smiles larger (And I hadn't thought that it was possible to smile any bigger than she had been, but she somehow managed it). "You're in the right place. I'm Malon Ford." She stuck out a hand.

I shook Malon's hand. "Zelda Harkinian."

Malon pulled her hand back and stepped away from the doorway. "Welcome." She said, as she pulled back the door for me to step in.

Stopping in the doorway, I slowly took in my surroundings.

One word: horses.

The room was big enough to house two twin beds, a desk, a small futon, two small closets and a little bathroom. But those details were completely overshadowed by the decor on one half of the room. Malon's bed was decked out with a big throw with a mare stitched onto it, a horse-pattern pillow case, a bunch of horse-themed throw pillows, and about a dozen little stuffed horses. Above the bed hung a painting of several wild horses running around in an open field, manes flying behind each and every one of them in a strange sort of elegance.

"You ride?" I asked, and then wanted to slap myself. _Of course she rides, you moron!_

Malon nodded enthusiastically. "I love to ride. I have a favourite back home named Epona. She's such a pretty girl," She stared off into space for a moment before snapping back to reality. "What about you? What are you into?"

I walked over to my trunk that my dad's butlers had dropped off and opened it up. "I draw mostly." I say pulling out a sketchbook for emphasis.

"Can I see?" Malon asks, pointing to my sketchbook.

"Oh, I…" My eyes flitted around, as if a perfectly believable excuse would just be written on the white walls of our room. "I'm really not very good." I finished lamely.

Malon raised an eyebrow. "An overly modest artist? Damn, are you all like that?"

I opened my mouth. When no good excuses came out, I sighed in defeat and handed her the book.

Malon flipped through the pages, staring at each picture intently. "These are amazing!" She said, getting closer and closer to the one picture I hoped she'd ignore…

"Oh!" She gasped and I knew she had found it. "This your boyfriend?" Malon said, showing me the rough pencil drawing of a young man.

_Yup._ I thought with a cringe. _She found it._

My cheeks reddened. Hey, just because I'm fluent in sarcasm don't mean I'm immune to embarrassment. "No, he's not… it's hard to explain." I said slowly.

Malon smiled, knowing she'd hit the jackpot. "Then why did you draw this guy…? Is he… _cosplaying?_" She asked pointing to the tunic he wore in the picture. "I suppose it doesn't matter much, cosplaying or not, he's still a hottie."

"He's not cosplaying." I said defensively. "That's just what I dreamed him wearing. And he looks sexy in it, if I do say so myself."

"Dreamed him?" Malon asked, looking a lot more interested.

"Yeah." I said slowly, wondering how I could say it without sounding weird. "I think he's a figment of my imagination or something. I've never met this guy in my life."

… And I failed hard at trying to make that sound normal.

"A figment? Hmm…" Malon stared at the young man in the picture. "If that's true, then this picture is truly brilliant."

I looked at her in surprise. "Huh?"

Malon smiled. "Well, think about it. It's one thing to be able to recreate what you see, but to create something out of thin air is…" She opened her hands wide in front of her. "Brilliant."

I had to return her smile. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Miss Ford."

Malon laughed. "Back at 'cha, Miss Harkinian." She looked back down at my drawing. "It's really too bad he's not real, he's quite yummy… actually a bit familiar even."

I rolled my eyes. "What? Are you flirting with my drawing? That whole 'have we met?' thing is _such _a guy move."

"No seriously, take off the wind-sock-hat and he really looks like a friend of mine."

"Hey," I warned. "Don't diss my imaginary guy's hat."

Malon laughed. "Maybe not imaginary." She squinted at the boy's face. "Hmm… it's a little difficult to see because his face is profile. Do you have any other pictures of him frontward?"

My cheeks reddened again, just when they had finally cooled down. "No. It's not like I've got some weird fetish with him!"

Malon raised an eyebrow, and flipped over to the next page. "Here he is again. And here. And here. And here. And here. And – ah! Frontal view, awesome."

Okay, so there was more that one picture I didn't want her to find.

"Okay, give it back." I said, face flaming.

"Wait a second!" Malon said as she observed the picture closely. "Damn, it really does look like him."

"Like who?" I asked, trying to reclaim my sketchbook.

"My friend who also attends this academy." Malon responded, holding my sketchbook easily out of my reach.

"Really?" I asked as I attempted to grab hold of my book, but damn, she was fast. "Does he have a name?"

"Link." She said. "He's in our grade too."

"Huh." I said. "That's weird."

That name actually stirred a weird emotion in my stomach…

"What?" Malon asked.

Before she could react, I reached over and snatched my sketchbook back. "That."

Malon crossed her arms, fake glaring at me. "That was rude." She pointed out.

"So was not relinquishing my sketch pad." I told her. "So you find your friend, quote on quote 'yummy'?"

Malon snickered. "Jealous?"

"No." I said simply. "I don't know him. Answer the question."

"Fine." Malon said as she flopped onto her horse-covered bed. "Sure, I mean, I have _eyes_. Even though I only see him as like, my brother, or whatever, I won't deny that he's an attractive guy."

I nodded and tossed my sketchbook onto my bed.

"I'll introduce you, if you'd like." Malon said from behind me.

I froze. What if she tells him that—?

"Don't worry, I won't tell him you were dreaming about him or whatever." I turned to see Malon with a finger to her lips. "It'll be a girls-only secret."

I grinned at her. I was really beginning to like my roommate.

* * *

**So there you have it, the first chapter of my first Fanfic. Let me know what you think. Like it? Dislike it? leave a review if you liked it, if you didn't like it... leave a review anyway. The little noob that is me really needs it! :)**

**P.S. Does anyone know what AU stands for? I'm really new here, So I don't have a clue.**


	2. When Link Met Zelda

**Thank you so much for the nice reviews peoples, I mean, I know it's really not many, but it's far more than I expected to get. And besides, they feed my starving ego OM NOM NOM!**

**… Oh and thank you for explaining the AU thing, I was majorly at a loss about that. Anyway, without further ado, here's chapter 2. (Ha, that rhymed)**

* * *

**Chapter 2 – When Link Met Zelda**

After I unpacked all my stuff (and Malon had flipped through every one of my sketchbooks), Malon offered to show me around the school.

"This place isn't only rich and exclusive," Malon said as we pushed past the stained-glass doors of dorm 3-G. "It's also old as the hills."

I glanced around the modern-looking campus with a raised eyebrow, or at least I _tried _to. I've always sucked at raising one eyebrow and usually ended up raising both, making me look startled rather than sceptical.

"Well, obviously the building was rebuilt completely." Malon rolled her eyes. "But the actual institution has been around since the middle ages."

"How do you know this stuff?" I asked as we walked past a couple of ninth-graders.

"Well, in addition to having an unhealthy obsession with horses, I also love history." Malon explained. "This school had a long one, so I looked into it." She shrugged.

"Oh." I nodded. "Anything interesting?"

Malon seemed surprised by my question. "Oh well… did you know that back when Hyrule was ruled by a monarch, three generations of princesses attended this place?"

"Really? Hmm… well considering the amount of princesses there are now, I'm not impressed."

"Princesses aren't all that bad." Malon said with a laugh.

I shared her laugh. "Not all of them." I agreed. "You don't exactly make me want to pull my hair out. You _almost_ do, but not quite."

Malon fake-scowled. "Meanie. Just for that one, I'm dumping ice in your underwear drawer."

I gave her a look. "Uh-huh… and where exactly are you going to find said ice?"

"Magic." Malon replied, wiggling her fingers at me spookily.

I snorted. "Right."

"It could happen!" Malon argued. "Our country used to be notorious for having copious amounts of 'witches' way back when people hunted them down and burned them at the stake. It's probably got to do with our slightly pointed ears." She shrugged. "I guess the world saw our abnormalities as witchcraft."

Malon stretched her arms in front of herself before continuing. "Here in Hyrule, sorcery was encouraged as long as it wasn't demonic and didn't include sacrifice. This gained us a lot of hate from most of the rest of the world, but they were all too scared to attack us." She grinned. "Hooray for freaks! It kept us war-free for a century!"

I returned the grin. "Freaks can do all that? Good. That means as long as I'm around, there will be no war!" I looked over at my new friend. "You're welcome."

Malon shook her head. "You're so strange, Zellie."

"And that's why there will be no war." I reminded her.

We wandered into the large courtyard that lay behind the main school building. It was filled with many students, along with a bunch of statues and a big fountain in the center. The many cliques were easily identifiable. The pretties were sitting along the edge of the fountain — Sabrina sitting being the centre of attention, of course — being checked out by every guy in the area. The jocks were gathered around under a big oak tree near the back doors of the school, watching as two guys squared off in a fencing match. Sitting around the large statue near the edge of the courtyard was the bookworms, all with their noses in a book, completely disconnected from the rest of the world. On the opposite side of the yard sat the rockers, strumming on a guitar or banging their drumsticks. There was a so many other, smaller cliques scattered about that it would take hours to name them all.

Malon was still prattling on about Hyrule's long history as she led me to the stairs to the school's back door. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the same creepy guy who had smiled at me before I had gotten to my dorm was sitting along one of the thick, cement railings, glaring at the jock boys with a surprising amount of hatred. After a few seconds, he hopped down from the railing and walked off, but not before turning back to send me a creepy grin. I shivered and looked away.

Suddenly, I felt something hit me hard in the back of the knees, causing my legs to collapse beneath me. I attempted to catch myself on the railing, but ended up toppling over it instead.

"Zeld—!" I head Malon yell, but I was already falling head-first into the pavement.

I was caught by two strong arms, before both my saviour and I fell to the ground.

"Oof!" Both the person and I sputtered as the air was knocked out of the both of us.

I laid there a moment, eyes closed, my heart beating wildly. _What caused me to topple over like that?_ I wondered.

"You alive?" A male voice said from below me.

I opened my eyes to find that I was sitting on some jock-guy's lap, with my arms wrapped around his neck, no less. I scooted away from him as fast as possible.

"So, you are alive." He mused.

I wasn't sure what shade of red my face was, but I'm guessing it was somewhere between a tomato and a fire truck. What was worse is that the guy was pretty cute; tall and tanned, lightly muscled with sandy-coloured hair falling freely into his deep-blue eyes. I also noticed of a small blue earring hung in his left ear, which looked adorable on him. There was something about him that struck me as familiar, something that made me feel oddly comfortable with this stranger.

_Who is this guy…?_

The question didn't stay unanswered for long.

I remember drawing this face, putting so much care into every detail, into every strand of hair. I dreamed of this face, of this smile that was burned into my brain even after waking. I was seeing him here, sitting in front of me, wonderful and familiar. He was the boy who's haunted my dreams since I was ten.

_Oh Din… Could it really be him?_

"You—!" I gasped before I could stop myself.

"Saved your ass?" The guy replied. "Yeah, I did. You're welcome."

_Okay._ I thought, my mood changing rapidly from wonderstruck to pissed. _I like him much better in my dreams._

I crossed my arms. "I don't recall asking for my ass to be saved."

The boy scoffed. "So you'd rather be a splat on the pavement?"

I was about to snap at him when Malon came up behind me.

"Zelda, are you okay?" She asked, her blue eyes wide with shock.

"Up until I met this guy, I was just fine." I replied, brushing myself off.

Malon looked at the jock-guy and snorted with laughter. "She got you there, Link."

_That's right, this person is Malon's friend. He's not the guy I dreamed of, no matter how big a resemblance there is... right?_

The guy named Link shrugged, sending me a slightly annoyed look. "She's got a mouth. I regret my decision to save her from brain-damage."

"Yeah, well, you're not exactly my ideal hero." I said. "I'd much prefer to be brain-dead."

Link smirked, clearly satisfied with pissing me off. "So your name's Zelda, huh?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

_Curse you for being able to do that!_ I cried in my head, mentally shaking my fist at him.

"Yes." I tucked my hair behind my ear. "So?"

"Nothing, it's just an odd name."

"Oh and I suppose Link is a common name?" I rolled my eyes and got to my feet.

Link did the same. "You okay?" He asked, ignoring my previous comment.

"Had better days." I replied as I bent down and felt the back of my knee, which radiated with a dull ache. I wondered what had hit it and how exactly it was launched at me in the first place.

"Hey Malon," I asked. "Did you see anything thrown at me?"

Malon cocked her head, her face a mask of confusion. "No, why?"

I sighed and straightened to my full height. "I thought I felt something hit the back of my knee, so I figured that may have been what caused my little spill."

"Little?" Malon snickered. "Girl, that was far from little."

I rolled my eyes, half-expecting Link to give us a piece of his two-sense, but he said nothing. Instead, he was staring off over my shoulder.

"What are you looking at?" I asked, following his glare.

There, leaning up against a tree, was Red-Eyes. He was wearing his signature satisfied smirk, his gaze glued on the three of us.

_He couldn't have been the one to trip me… could he?_ I thought to myself suspiciously, but then pushed the feeling away. _No. Creepy or not, I doubt he would try to seriously injure someone he doesn't even know._

The red-eyed guy lifted a hand, as if to wave, but it felt more like a taunt. He then turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

I looked back at Link. His jaw was locked, his hands in fists at his sides, and his stance tense.

_Does he suspect the same thing I did?_

"I'll see you, Mal, Zelda." Link said faintly, before jogging off after Red-Eyes.

"Uh-oh." Malon said as she watched her friend go after Red-Eyes.

"What?" I asked.

Malon sighed. "That guy, the one with the black hair? He's Drake Dragmire, the principal's son. Him and Link… they don't get along well at all." She crossed her arms. "I would even go as far as saying they despise each other."

"Why?"

"Well, let's just say Drake uses his father's position to his advantage." Malon shook her head, disgust clearly written on her face. "Link really hates it when people are like that, so naturally, the two detest each other. Plus Drake tries to intimidate people who can't defend themselves, and hates that Link usually interferes with him pushing people around. But Drake's pretty intimidating regardless."

I nodded in agreement. "He's been giving me these weird little smiles all day." I told her, my skin crawling at the memory.

Malon gaped at me. "Really? Oh Naryru, that's too creepy…"

"Yeah, well," I rubbed my birthmark; it was feeling oddly warm since after my fall. "Try actually experiencing it."

Malon shivered. "I don't even want to go there." She noticed me rubbing my hand. "Dry skin?"

I shrugged. "Probably, but it's odd how the only part that feels warm is my birthmark."

Malon took my hand, observing it closely. "Hmm… it _is _warm. And look at that mark!" She showed me my own hand. "It's too perfect."

"I know." I said. "My mom told me I was born with it, so it's definitely a birthmark."

Malon opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by another voice.

"Mal!"

Both of us turned to see an extremely tall, muscular guy jogging over to us.

"Dar!" Malon called as he approached.

"Hey Malon," Muscle-guy said, giving her an easy smile. "Where did Link go?"

Malon smiled and rolled her eyes. "After Drake again."

"Dammit!" Muscle guy cursed. "How are we supposed to teach the new students without our star fencer?"

"So that's what you guys were doing…" Malon said, mostly to herself. "Apparently he doesn't think he's needed." She added with a shrug.

"Idiot." Muscle guy shook his head before turning his gaze to me. "Sorry, I don't think we've met. I'm Darunia Kennedy."

I shook Darunia's colossal hand. "Zelda Harkinian. Nice to meet you."

"You took quite the spill there, didn't ya?" Darunia said. "You're lucky Link saw you and caught you just in time. The stair you fell from was, at the very least, seven feet from the ground. You okay?"

_He saw it too, huh? _

"I'll live." I assured him. "Hey, uh, did you by chance see anything thrown at me at all?"

Darunia shook his head. "No, I didn't even see what happened before Link caught you. Why, _did_ someone throw something at you?"

"I don't know," I replied. "I thought I felt something throw me off balance, but then again I've never really been all that graceful." I added sheepishly.

"Well, if someone _did _throw something at you on your first day, I can guarantee it was Drake." Darunia commented, lowering his voice. He seemed about as impressed with the guy as Malon had.

Malon and I exchanged a look.

"Probably," I agreed, my voice low. "He's been looking at me weird all day."

Darunia's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

I nodded.

"It worries me a bit." Malon murmured. "It seems like too much of a coincidence that he would decide to single you out, and then you end up having an accident that may have left you in a hospital, which also happened shortly after seeing him, no less."

"Zelda," Darunia looked at me seriously. "Stay away from that guy. He's trouble."

The three of us are silent for a few seconds, but Darunia was soon called back by his buddies.

"I gotta go." He says over his shoulder. "See ya, Mal. See ya, Zeld."

As we both said goodbye, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Malon watching Darunia walk away intently.

"Mal?" I asked, eyebrows raised. "Do you… like Darunia?"

"What?" Malon stopped staring and blushed crimson. "Oh, I…"

I waited, already knowing her answer before she nodded.

"He seems like a good guy," I told her. "You should go for it."

Malon perked up. "Yes! He is a good guy! A great guy, even!"

"So why keep things a secret?" I asked.

Malon sighed. "It's just, he's been my friend just as long as Link has, which is over ten years. He sees me as like, his _sister_. Nothing romantic at all."

"Has he ever said that you were a sister to him?"

"Well… no." Malon admitted.

"Then there's still hope." I assured her.

Malon nodded, but I could tell she still felt hopeless. I wanted to encourage her further, but I also didn't want to meddle. The last time I messed around with a friend's love life, things went absolutely wrong. Long story short, my friend ended up with a broken heart, and the guy with a broken toe.

Malon shook off her last bit of sadness and slung an arm around my shoulder. "So what do you think of your dream guy?"

"I think he should've stayed in my dreams," I said bitterly. "He's an arrogant jerk in real life; I definitely like him better in my mind. We don't get along at all here in the real world."

"It's not that he's a jerk," Malon corrected. "You just don't get along because you two are so alike."

"Alike?" I snorted. "Yeah, and I was the Queen of Hyrule in a past life."

Malon rolled her big blue eyes. "Girly, you're delusional if you don't see the similarities in how you talk and act."

"Enlighten me."

"Well, for one thing, you've both got the same, rude, crude, sarcastic sense of humour." She paused, pursing her pink lips. "You both hate admitting that you need help, or that someone helped you. You're both really stubborn and despise being wrong, too. Face it, Zelda, the two of you fit together like two pieces of a puzzle."

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Then opened it again. Her definition of me was spot-on.

"Okay, so maybe we're alike, but that doesn't excuse the way he treated me!"

Malon snorted. "Yeah, what a prick, saving you from having your skull split open like that."

"He said he regretted it!" I threw my hands in the air for emphasis.

Malon shrugged. "That's Link's humour. Crude, just like yours."

I groaned. "Fine, you win. We're exactly alike, a pair made by the Goddess'. We'll grow up, get married and have, tiny, sarcastic babies."

Malon giggled. "Those would be the wittiest kids ever."

"Yes they would." I had to agree, when came to the game of sarcasm, Link was a formidable opponent.

A shrill bell went off, and I realized it was someone's phone. Malon jumped slightly and pulled out her fancy top-of-the-line cell. She typed a few things, then read the incoming text and cursed.

"Shoot! I forgot all about that!" She sent me an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry, Zel. My friend and I were supposed to talk to the History teacher about switching into a more advanced class. I've really gotta go, sorry!"

I waved off her guilt. "It's fine. I'm sure I can survive alone for awhile."

"Okay." Malon put her phone away. "I'm sure the guys on the fencing team won't mind if you hang out with them. Most of them are pretty cool."

I glanced over my shoulder to the group of guys. Somehow, hanging around with a bunch of guys I didn't know whatsoever didn't seem like whole a lot of fun. "Actually, I think I'll explore the school a little more."

Malon nodded in understanding. "Kay. I'll see ya in a bit." She offered me a small smile, before bouncing up the stairs to the school's back door.

* * *

I had only been walking around the school's campus for a few minutes when I stumbled across a big wooded area, with a little gravel trail leading into it. There was a sign sticking out of the ground warning students to tell a teacher before heading off down the trail, but I ignored it. I mean, this is a _high school_, I'm pretty sure everyone here's smart enough not to get lost in the woods.

_Hmm… _I thought to myself as I looked at the pretty forest around me. _Wish I had my sketchbook…_

I continued to look around the forest, when my eyes caught something moving between the thick trees. I squinted. No, _two_ somethings, looking like nothing more than random blurry shapes from where I was standing. Curious, I crept off the trail, careful not to make noise as I moved closer to the two figures.

Two male students – probably on the fencing team, since it seemed the two of them where having a match – were standing in a small, treeless meadow. At the moment, they were simply staring at one another from the end of their swords. I snuck closer, wincing at every stick that snapped under my feet. I immediately recognized one of the students as Drake Dragmire, but the other had his back turned to me, so I couldn't identify him.

"That's a scary expression you have there, McCormick." Drake sneered, his red irises flashing dangerously. "All because I brought up your little whore?"

The other guy visibly bristled. Even from afar I could feel the rage radiating off his body. "If you talk about her again, I will cut your throat out."

Drake seemed unfazed by the other guy's threat. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. My father is the school principal, remember? He will notice me missing, and will know exactly who's responsible. He's a powerful and respected individual who will have you thrown into jail. Once you're out of the way, who will stop Sabrina from ripping the girl to pieces?"

The other guy let out a cry of fury and surged at Drake, sword raised.

I choked back a gasp as the two slashed and stabbed at each other, the sound of clashing metal echoing through the forest.

It occurred to me that they weren't having a fencing match at all. They weren't using fencing swords, but real, razor-sharp blades. They were actually trying to slice 'n dice each other to bits.

_What should I do?_ I panicked. _Should I go get a teacher? Should I stop them myself?_

I heard a thump as Drake hit the dirt, his sword skidding away from his reach.

"It seems I've lost to you again, McCormick." Drake said, bitterness creeping into his voice. "Go right ahead and kill me, but realize you won't be doing your little slut any favours."

The other guy didn't move a muscle, or react to Drake's taunts; he just stood over him, pointing his sword at Drake's chest. The guy bent down and roughly pulled his opponent to his feet.

"Get up and get out of my face." He growled.

Drake smirked and picked his own sword back up. "Always weak because of that woman," He slashed the guy's face at blinding speed, causing me to choke on another gasp. "It's really sickening."

Drake went for another slash, but his sword was intercepted with the other, mystery guy's blade.

"I said leave." The mystery guy snarled.

Drake pulled back his sword, looking amused. "Fine, as you wish, Hero. I'm finished toying with you, anyway." He turned around and walked back into the trees, disappearing from sight.

The mystery guy just stood there for a second, breathing heavily. The seconds ticked by agonizingly slow as I held my breath. Slowly, he turned around, and I was unable to stop myself from gasping this time.

It was Link, his blue eyes sharp with anger. There was a cut along his right cheek, blood seeping from the shallow wound.

Link scanned the trees, his eyes stopping right on me. His eyes widened.

"Zelda?" He asked, as if unsure if it was really me.

I cringed, but slowly stood.

"What are you…? I mean, how long have you been here?"

I hung my head guiltily, bracing myself for the worst. "I… got here when Drake was talking about that girl."

Link paled, but his face quickly morphed into a mask of anger. "You shouldn't have followed me!" He snapped.

"I didn't!" I protested. "I swear, I just… accidentally stumbled across you guys fighting."

I was almost positive he didn't believe me. Not that I could blame him, _I _didn't believe me.

"Whatever, just keep what you saw here to yourself." Link muttered as he brushed past me.

I followed him. "How the hell do you expect me to just keep that to myself?" I demanded as I dodged a tree branch. "Link, that was no normal disagreement! You guys were fighting seriously, and talking about killing, and Drake was threatening some girl! Please, just tell me what's going on!"

"What does it matter to you? We hardly know each other."

I grunted as a branch flew back and hit me in the face. "I'm not going to just ignore someone in trouble!" I snapped as I shoved the branch away to glare at his back.

Link didn't answer and kept walking, but I wasn't going to let it go.

By now we had made it back onto the trail, but Link was still not talking. I growled angrily at his stubbornness and jumped in front of his path. "Tell me right now why I shouldn't tell the first person of authority I find what I just saw, because if you don't explain to me what's going on, that's exactly what I'll do!"

"Zelda," Link growled, glaring down at me. "None of this concerns you. Mind your own damn business."

"No!" I objected stubbornly. "I won't mind my own business! Someone will get hurt! In fact, you're already hurt!"

I reached for his face to get a better look at the cut, – Impa was a doctor, so she had taught me how to dress a wound – but Link caught my hand.

"Zelda," He said quietly. "I can handle it. It's for the best that you don't involve yourself."

Our eyes met.

I was speechless, looking into Link's deep-blue irises. It was as if time itself had slowed down, and we were the only two people left in the world. My heart fluttered in my chest like a hummingbird as we stood, stuck in each other's gaze.

I let out a deep breath I hadn't realized I was holding, and the spell broke.

Link dropped my hand and walked away, leaving me breathless in the middle of the little gravel trail.

_Shit. _I thought as I tried to slow my racing heart. _Don't tell me I have a crush on Link McCormick._

* * *

**Okay, I know what you're thinking. MalonxDarunia? The hell? I know it's totally random, but I thought Miss Malon deserved to have a love interest that wouldn't put a strain on her friendship with Zellie. She always seemed like the romantic type to me, so I just couldn't leave without a crush! **

**Oh and, after reading one of the reviews, I realized something: I MADE A MISTAKE ON MY FIRST CHAPTER! Somebody pointed out that there's only 3 classes, and at first I was like "What? Nuh-uh, there's 4" But then I reread my 1****st**** chapter and realized something else: LUNCH ISN'T A CLASS! Oh well, I guess Hyrule has a weird school schedule… XD **

**Anyhoo, leave a review pretty please with thirty cherries on top. **


	3. Food Fight

**Thanks again for the reviews dudes and dudettes, I really… *sniff*… appreciate each and every one of them. :')**

**Ahem… anyway, onto chapter 3.**

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Food Fight**

_It can't be a crush._ I reasoned as I stared at the white ceiling of my dorm room. _It's not a crush. It's not. _

If anything, that stupid, fluttery feeling I had in my stomach when Link had looked at me was nothing more than infatuation. It was only a reaction to his looks… wasn't it?

_Yes! _I mentally screamed at myself. _There's nothing more to that feeling than purely physical attraction! Just like Malon said, I have eyes, but that doesn't mean I like him! Right…? _

I remembered those eyes. Such a beautiful blue… the colour of the ocean… any girl could drown in those eyes…

"Gah!" I screamed in frustration, shoving my pillow into my face. "Stop thinking about it!"

I rolled over in my bed, hugging my pillow to my chest tightly. _I will not have a crush on Link McCormick. I will not have a crush on Link McCormick. I won't. I forbid myself!_

"I've seen my friends in so many failed relationships because they were all based off of looks and physical attraction." I told my pillow. "I said to myself '_Zelda, don't you ever be dumb enough to make such a mistake!'_, and yet, here I am, actually pondering whether I like a guy I've known for barely two hours. And why? All because he has nice eyes!"

_You stupid, blond, moron!_ I scolded myself. _Really! Maybe if you had landed on your face earlier, it would've knocked some sense into that empty head of yours!_

I sighed and decided I needed to think about more important things, like that weird talk between Drake and Link I'd overheard. I mean, what exactly _was _that? I reanalyzed the conversation in my head for about the eighth time.

Drake had called Link "Hero". Why? Maybe Drake was referring the way that Link got in the way of him picking on people? I suppose it would make sense, but I wasn't really satisfied with _that_ being the explanation. For some reason I wanted to look for deeper meaning in the simple name.

After another moment of pondering, I just accepted my first theory and decided to move on.

Drake also talked about Link's 'Little whore'. That had to be his girlfriend, I mean, what better way to piss a guy off than to call his girlfriend a whore? Answer: There is no better way.

_Geh! Why does the thought of him having a girlfriend send a weird pang to my chest? I've already decided I don't like him!_

I chased those weird thoughts away. Right now, I was supposed to be focusing on more important things than my suddenly-skyrocketing teenage hormones.

But I can't help but wonder who Link's girlfriend is. And why exactly didn't Malon tell me about her? I think it's safe to assume she goes to Hylia with us, since Drake brought up his sister 'ripping her to pieces'. I don't know, but I doubt she'd bother if Link's girlfriend wasn't immediately within reach to rip. And how exactly did this mystery girl fit in with any of this, anyway? Was she only being used because she's his weakness? Whoever she was, she must be someone extremely precious to Link for him to react the way he did at Drake's insults.

_Ugh. _I threw my pillow behind my head again. _This is all so confusing! Why the hell didn't I try to drill Link for some answers, rather than standing there like an idiot and letting him get away?_

This was far from over though, if Mr. Ocean-Eyes thinks he can get away without telling me anything, he's got another thing coming. There's no way I'm letting this go without some answers.

* * *

I had been laying face-down on my bed for Goddess-knows-how-long, when Malon opened the door and stepped in.

"Zel!" She said enthusiastically. "I got into the advanced History class!"

"Proud of you." I mumbled against my pillow.

"What's up with you?" Malon asked.

I rolled over. "I'm feeling tired." I explained.

"Why?"

"I've been doing a lot of hard thinking." I replied, tapping my forehead.

Malon put a hand to her chest and faked concern. "Oh Darling, you didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

I threw one of my pointless decoration pillows at her and rolled back into the safety of my duvet.

"You're right, Mal," Another voice said. "She's _very _lively."

I rolled over again to see a short, slender girl standing next to Malon. Her hair was cut to the base of her neck, and was dyed a pretty forest-green colour that matched her eyes. She clearly looked younger than Malon and I.

The green-haired girl smiled at me. "Hello."

"Um, hi?" I said back, unsure of what else to say.

The green-haired girl laughed. "I'm Saria Fredericton. Malon's told me all about you, Zelda." Saria lowered her voice. "And about the incident this afternoon."

I glared at Malon. "Well, why don't we just rent a billboard and handout fliers highlighting my fall?"

Saria laughed again. "I'm sure Malon's already on it, but," Her face grew a little more serious. "I meant about Drake giving you weird looks."

I combed through my hair with my fingers. "It's not much of a big deal. I mean, it's just a few funny looks, right? Harmless." I shrugged, hoping they couldn't see exactly how worried I was over the guy.

Saria held up a finger. "Normally, I'd agree with you, but since its Drake…" She trailed off.

"That guy really gives me the creeps." Malon said with a grimace. "Well, he gives _everyone_ the creeps. He's kind of like a walking test-of-courage."

I shrugged again, attempting to be nonchalant.

"Just be careful." Saria told me. "That guy… I just don't know about him."

I nodded. It's not like I needed these warnings, I wouldn't go anywhere _near _the guy even if he promised to grant me three wishes.

"Anyway," Malon's mood swung from grim to happy. "Let's head off to dinner so we can introduce Zelda to everyone!"

I sat up and glanced at my alarm-clock, my eyes widening at the time. "Six-thirty already?"

"Yup." Malon said. "Just how long have you had your face in those pillows?"

I shook the stray hairs from my face. "Apparently a lot longer than I thought."

"Whatever, it doesn't matter." Malon marched over to me and grabbed my wrist. "What matters is that there is going to be a big cake at today's dinner, and if we don't hurry, we'll miss out."

I perked up at the mention of cake. "Well then, wouldn't want to keep the cake waiting."

* * *

"Everyone, this is Zelda!" Malon said as we approached a long, dark wood table filled with people.

I wasn't paying much attention because I was far too busy staring at the huge banquet hall in awe.

The place was… well, it was _huge!_ Along the right wall it was nothing but windows, looking out into the gorgeous courtyard below. Along the left wall was all the delicious-looking food and a giant three-tier vanilla cake, which made me almost want to skip all the introductions and just get down to eating. Under my feet was a cushy red carpet, stain-free despite being the flooring for the lunchroom for a bunch of teenagers. A gold and crystal chandelier hung elegantly above my head, sparkling beautifully. The large room had a bunch of dark, hard-wood tables lined up in rows with matching chairs, each one already filled with chatting students.

The big table that Malon and Saria had led me to was filled already with a bunch of teenagers, chattering about whatever. I instantly recognized Nabooru, Darunia, and Link among the group; the rest, however, I had no recognition of whatsoever.

Everyone looked up at me and waved, or just smiled. Well, all of them except Link, who was simply looking bored. I noticed that there was no sign of a scratch on his face. What? Was he wearing make up, or was he Wolverine and could heal himself instantly?

I shook off my curiosity and slid into an empty seat between Nabooru and Malon, unfortunately that was also across from Link. Saria slid into the seat next to him and poked his arm.

"Hey Linky," She said, earning herself a raised eyebrow. "Say hello to the newcomer."

Link's gaze met mine, a small smile quirking his lips. "We've already been acquainted."

I blushed a bit, remembering.

Saria smacked his arm. "Still, you should say hi." She scolded.

Watching the two, I wondered, _Was Saria Link's girlfriend?_ I guess she could be, they were obviously close.

"Okay," Malon stood up in her seat. "Time to introduce ourselves, starting with me!"

I sent my roommate a startled look. _Oh no... this will be unnecessarily over-the-top. _

"I'm Malon Ford, queen of history class and horses!" Malon declared boldly. She pointed to Saria. "This is Saria Fredericton, child prodigy!"

Saria stood; pointing to the girl on Link's other side. "That is Ruto Floria, princess of the swim-team!" she pointed her finger to Nabooru. "That is Nabooru Kingsford, the master of martial arts!"

Nabooru stood up somewhat reluctantly, and pointed at Darunia. "That's Darunia Kennedy, co-captain of the fencing and football teams." she turned her finger toward another girl near the end of the table. "That's Karane Hardy, lover of all things pink an' frilly."

The redhead named Karane stood and pointed to the brown-haired guy next to her. "This Pipit Anders, my boyfriend and lover of all things me! … or at least he better be." She looked back to us and pointed at Link. "And that is Link McCormick, resident heartthrob and master of fencing!"

Link rolled his eyes, but didn't budge. "Oh no, I'm not going to make an idiot out myself too."

Saria pouted. "Oh fine! Zelda will introduce herself, and she'll do a way better job than you ever would!"

Malon poked my shoulder. "Go on. Most of us made a fool of ourselves already, now it's your turn."

I sighed and stood up. "I guess I'm Zelda Harkinian, somewhat a master of both the art of drawing and the art of sarcasm."

The whole table gave a laugh, and I knew I'd said the right thing.

I slid back into my seat just as I heard the distinct sound of a microphone being tapped. A hush went through the crowd of students as they all gazed at a lone man standing at the head of the room. He was extremely tall, easily surpassing Darunia, with dark skin and red hair similar to Nabooru's. The difference was, while it looked pretty on Nabooru, his flaming hair looked menacing on him. The man seriously looked like the type who'd kick puppies for fun.

"Good evening, students." The man said, sweeping his intimidating golden gaze over the crowd of students. "I would like to welcome you all to another year at HyliaAcademy."

I leaned close to Malon. "Who's that?"

"Principal Dragmire." Malon replied quietly.

"Ahh Miss Ford, Miss Harkinian, is there something you would like to share with the rest of the school?" Principal Dragmire asked, raising a fiery eyebrow.

I wondered how exactly he'd know our names like that, especially mine, not to mention hear us whispering from the front of the room. _Creepy…_

"N-no sir!" Malon stuttered, clearly overwhelmed by all the eyes watching her.

Principal Dragmire stared at me, as if waiting for some sort of reaction, but continued his speech when he saw he'd get nothing.

"As I'm sure most of you know, uniforms are to be worn to classes at all times. However, on weekends and after school hours, you are to wear as you please, but be sure that is to code. Now, for some reason, people have had troubles with this rule in the past, which is why I am addressing the matter now." He paused, giving us all a hard stare. "If you are caught wearing anything that is not to the school's code, you will have to write a thousand word essay on why such behaviour was inappropriate. If this happens more than three times, then you have chosen to lose all privileges to wear anything other than the uniform. Am I clear?"

Over a thousand students rolled their eyes simultaneously.

The principal ignored the students' reaction to his stupid-ass rule and continued. "HyliaAcademy is a highly respected school with the highest-quality staff and equipment. We wouldn't want to slander the reputation of our fine institution, now would we?"

I cringed at his unsympathetic tone. I knew this school would be tough, but I had no clue the principal was so… _Spartan._ The uniforms are bad enough, but to tell us what to wear when we are outside of classes? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!

Principal Dragmire took a long look around the room, seeming to take pleasure in scaring the crap out of the new students. "That is all. Please, enjoy your meal."

He placed the microphone back into the stand, and walked out of the grand dining hall.

I turned to Malon. "Sorry I got you in trouble."

Malon waved it off. "Its fine, you were asking a legitimate question."

"Yeah," Ruto interjected. "How were you supposed to know the man's got bat hearing?"

I smiled faintly, but the smile evaporated when I spotted Drake smirking at me again.

"He's doing it again." I murmured, hoping he didn't have the same inhuman hearing as his father.

"Who's doing what?" Saria asked, leaning forward onto the table.

"Drake. He's staring."

At the mention of Drake's name, Link turned around and glared over his shoulder.

Everyone in the room probably felt the chill as the two boys stared at each other, eyes burning with hatred.

Drake stopped staring first, then started talking to the tall, skinny guy who stood next to him.

Link turned back around and met my eyes. "Zelda," He said. "Tell me if that guy ever bothers you."

I blinked at him. _Why is he suddenly being protective of me? Is he bipolar? I thought he had made it clear that he couldn't stand me!_

As much as I itched to tell him all that, I merely kept my mouth shut and stared back at him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Saria pat Link's shoulder. At first I thought she was pissed off because I was staring at him, but she was smiling widely and exchanging a knowing look with Malon and Ruto.

"Has someone caught your eye, Linky-boy?"

I shifted my eyes from his and laughed. "The only way I would catch anyone's eye is if I were to scoop it out myself."

Malon, Saria, and Ruto giggled, all shaking their heads and assuring me that it wasn't true.

Link's hard expression softened as he watched us, and he let out a small chuckle.

_Goddess,_ I thought, the blush creeping onto my cheeks. _He has such a cute laugh…_

I couldn't help but notice Ruto and Saria, and even Nabooru had also gone a bit pink, though they were nothing compared to me, who was nearing the shade of Clifford the Big Red Dog. Only Malon seemed to be able to act normally.

_Ugh! _I wanted to slap myself both in frustration, and so I'd snap back to reality. _Why does this guy have such a powerful effect on me?_

"So, when can we go up and get food?" I asked, eyeing the food table, which was swarmed with students.

"Whenever we want." Ruto replied, resting her chin on her hand. "We usually like to wait for the food table to be less busy, though."

I looked back at the table, watching as people pushed one another out of the way, and decided Ruto was right.

After a few minutes of boredom, I started idly running my fingers through my hair when Nabooru noticed my hand.

"Hey, that mark…" She said, pointing to my now frozen hand that was still tangled in my hair.

"It's a birthmark." I explained. "I was born with it apparently."

Nabooru took my hand and studied it closely. "Huh. It's so perfectly shaped."

"Really?" Ruto asked, reaching for my hand from across the table. "Lemme see."

After a moment of staring at my hand, she dropped it. "Cool. Are you sure it's not a tattoo?"

I nodded. "Positive."

Then Saria reached for my hand. "I want to see." Her eyes widened. "Whoa, that's crazy. Link, you've got to see this."

"It's just a birthmark." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest with a raised eyebrow. "Not like it holds any magical powers within."

"But it's so… I don't know, _defined_. It doesn't look natural at all." Saria insisted, and then quickly added, "No offence."

"Some taken!" I told her, pulling my arm back with a fake-hurt expression.

Saria laughed and gave me a pout. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Zellie-pooh."

"Oh!" Karane exclaimed from the end of the table. "Look! The food tables' free!"

We all got out of our seats and rushed the food table like rapid dogs. Each of us stacked our plates high with food, then darted back to our seats to dig in. I hoped I hadn't looked like a pig, but couldn't really bring myself to care all that much.

"You draw, right?" Ruto asked me as she cut into her fish fillet.

I swallowed the food I had in my mouth. "I'm crap at it though." I admitted with a shrug.

Next to me, Malon scoffed. "Don't listen to her, Ru. She's the best artist I've ever seen."

I rolled my eyes. "And I'm sure you've seen enough art in your lifetime to be able to be a good judge."

Malon grinned. "Why yes, didn't you know? I am an expert on the subject."

I cocked my head at her. "Maybe at fanart." I said while Ruto snickered.

Malon opened her mouth, no doubt a snappy response on the end of her tongue, when a sudden, piercing scream of disgust echoed through the colossal room.

A few tables away, a girl I recognized as one of the pretties jumped up in her chair, a huge mound of mashed potatoes slowly plopping off her blond head.

_Farore, _I thought with a tiny smile curving my lips. _With a scream like that, I'd thought someone had been brutally murdered._

Another disgusted scream from a different table followed shortly after, as another girl jumped up, attempting to claw Chinese-fried noodles out of her hair.

Suddenly, food was flying all over the room. People stood up, throwing their dinners at one another as a mixture of giggling and screaming filled the air.

"Omigoddess!" Ruto screeched, diving under the table.

Malon and I followed, while Saria and Nabooru stood up and joined into the food fight.

"I thought this stuff only happened on T.V." Ruto yelled over the sound of people's laughter and shrieks.

"I know right?" Malon said.

"Whoever started this is going to be in deep shit!" I added, cringing as a huge pile of potatoes landed next to my hand.

At the other end of the table, Karane ducked under, and crawled toward us. "Hey girlies." She said as she sat cross-legged next to me. "Glad to see I'm not the only sensible one here."

"Where's Pipit?" Malon asked. "I thought you guys were, like, attached by the hip or something?"

"He wanted to join the food fight." Karane rolled her emerald eyes. "Said an opportunity like this doesn't come around often."

Just then, Nabooru ducked under the table. "Girls, old man Dragmire's here, and he's furious. I wouldn't be hiding right now if I was you."

All four of us bite our lips in unison, as if we had practiced beforehand. We all scrambled out from under the table, brushing ourselves off as we stood.

"Who threw food first?" Principal Dragmire's loud voice demanded. "Is someone going to own up to their crime?"

No one spoke, probably out of sheer terror.

"If you students think that you can get away with this without consequences, think again! If nobody admits to starting this food fight, everyone in school will lose their privileges to leave their dorms or to have any school dances _permanently!"_ Principal Dragmire warned. "It will be class, and then to your dorm for the rest of the night, people. Don't think I am bluffing."

I stared at the school principal, watching as he brought a few ninth-graders to tears with his yelling and his threats. I couldn't let _everyone_ be punished for one person's mistake, it just doesn't seem right. I stared at the food covered floor and opened my mouth, ready to take the blame…

"It was me." Another voice said.

My head snapped up as everyone else in the room let out a collective gasp.

Link was staring at Principal Dragmire, not an ounce of fear on his face. "I threw food at Liana first. I take the full blame."

"Link!" Saria hissed next to him. "What are you doing? You know it wasn't you!"

Link ignored her and kept staring at the principal, waiting for his punishment.

"It was me too!" I blurted.

Everyone in the room turned to stare at me; all mirroring the same befuddled/shocked expression.

"I threw food at the … uh, other girl." I said, squaring my shoulders and raising my chin. There's no reason for Link to suffer alone for something he didn't do.

Principal Dragmire looked between us, his golden gaze narrowing. "Come to my office, both of you. Now." He growled, before turning on his heel and leaving the room in long, angry strides.

"Zelda!" Malon grabbed my arm. "Why did you do that? You too Link! We all know it wasn't you guys!"

"I didn't want everyone to be punished for the stupid actions of one person." I said, unlocking her grasp on my upper-arm.

Link stayed quiet, but I guessed his reason was the same as mine.

"You guys are so dumb!" Malon exclaimed, resting her hands on her hips. "Do you know how badly you'll be punished?"

"I have an idea," I said with a sigh. "And if we stay here much longer, it'll be way worse."

"But Zelda—!" Malon protested.

Link cut her off. "It's better that two innocent people be severely punished than a thousand."

Next to me, Nabooru muttered, "Stupid heroes."

"Stupid or not, we already did it." I said as I started to head for the door, Link following closely behind. "I'm hoping he'll at least go easy on us since we confessed."

Ruto let out a sarcastic laugh, causing us both to turn. "This is _Dragmire_ we're talking about here, he wouldn't go easy on you if took a bullet for him."

Link didn't seem surprised, but I stared at her, rethinking my crappy situation.

Judging by the way Principal Dragmire had been acting a few moments ago, he definitely didn't seem like the merciful type. I wasn't exactly sure why I had even considered the possibility he would be.

_Well this sucks… _I thought glumly as I tried my best to ignore that comment. "Well, what's done is done." I replied lamely before continuing toward the doorway into the hall.

* * *

Link and I walked in an uncomfortable silence as we made our way to principal Dragmire's office.

"Zelda," Link's voice came from beside me. "Can I ask you something?"

I nodded, making eye-contact with the marble floor beneath my feet. "Go ahead."

"Are you a complete and utter idiot?"

I stopped dead in my tracks, and looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

Link sighed heavily and ran a hand through his sand-coloured hair. "Why the hell did you admit to doing something you didn't?"

I let out a huff. "Well, excuse me; I thought I was being nice!"

"How so?"

I glared at him, regretting my earlier choice to suffer alongside him. "Look; I don't know what crawled up your ass and died, but to be honest, not even _I _know why I did what I did!" I crossed my arms. "What I do know is that I regret it completely!"

"If you regret it so much, why the hell did you do it in the first place?" Link demanded, staring down at me.

At that moment I was reminded how much taller he was than me, but I didn't care how he easily towered over me. I was too pissed off now to be intimidated.

"I said I didn't know!" I snapped. "How many times do I need to say it before it gets through your fat head? I just did it, and now it's done. Get the hell over it!"

"Why are you always such a busybody?"

I blinked at him. "What?"

Link looked away, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. "Nothing. Nevermind." He muttered before starting to walk again.

"Wait! I'm not finished with you!" I yelled, jogging up next to him. "We've known each other for, what, _four hours _maybe? What makes you think you know me well enough to give me a label?"

"This is the second time you've intruded into my business today," Link replied, his steely, cerulean gaze staring straight ahead. "You clearly don't know when to stay out of people's problems."

My mouth dropped open. "You prick!" I said through clenched teeth. "I was trying to help!"

"Funny, I really don't recall asking for your help."

Anger boiled up inside of me. _This guy! _I thought, meanwhile angrily gnawing on my lower lip. _Just when I start to think he's not so bad… He – UGH!_

I opened my mouth, an extremely bitchy comment involving his mother and an underage pool boy on the very tip of my tongue, but what stood in front of me caused the words to die on my lips.

It was a massive, solid-oak door with a small, golden plaque bearing the name 'Principal G. Dragmire'.

All the anger drained from my body, replaced by the heavy feeling of dread. I swallowed thickly, really, _really_ regretting my choice to confess about the food fight. I should've just kept my mouth shut, and everything would've been just dandy. But no, I just _had_ to be a hero.

"You go." I told Link quietly.

He looked down at me for a moment, then sighed and pulled open the door to our unending torment.

* * *

**Meh. Not my best work, I'll admit. This chapter was mostly just to set things in motion, maybe a bit of foreshadowing… and was pretty boring. Oh well, I'll hopefully make up for it next chappy, where we learn of our hero and heroine's great punishment their endless bravery (or stupidity). Anyways, tell meh watcha think with a lovely little review :)**

**P.S. It'll be a very romantic punishment :3**


	4. The Beginning of Torment

**\(^.^)/ Hooray and thank you to you sexy peoples who have followed, reviewed, and favourite this story! I am very grateful for thy existence! **

**I now present onto you chapter 4! **

* * *

**Chapter 4 – The Beginning of Torment**

"Do either of you have any idea how much it will cost to clean the Dining Hall?" Principal Dragmire asked, staring at us with that unnerving golden gaze. "Well, do you?"

I opened my mouth, and then closed it, shaking my head. Next to me, Link sat completely unresponsive. It didn't seem like he cared about what was going on in the least, and he certainly wasn't scared or intimidated. He simply sat in the small wooden chair we were provided with, with his signature bored expression and his arms crossed, acting as if we were simply out for a nice car ride rather than sitting in the office of the single-scariest person alive.

"A lot." Principal Dragmire said for me. "We'll have to pay for the carpet and for all the upholstery on the chairs to be professionally cleaned. Not to mention, the entire room with have to be scrubbed down and the beautiful school flag that hung in the Dining Hall will have to be remade. How exactly do the two of you plan to pay for all of this?"

_This is the richest school in the country; I highly doubt money's a problem. _I thought, biting back the urge to come out with the snarky comment. But somehow, sarcasm and snarkiness didn't seem like the way to go with this man – he probably preferred the types who shut up did as they were told.

I stared down at my hands so that I wouldn't glare at him, idly running my fingers over my birthmark on the back of my hand. "I apologize." I said quietly.

"That is wonderful that you are repentant, Miss Harkinian." Principal Dragmire said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "However, being repentant won't pay for the damages your behaviour has caused."

I bit my lip against the anger that boiled inside my veins. _I didn't even freaking do it! _I wanted to yell.

Why, oh goddess, _why _did I get myself into this mess? Maybe I am an idiot…

"So your punishment shall be as follows;" Principal Dragmire continued, standing up from behind his large mahogany desk. "Both of you have lost your privileges to go to any dances or school gatherings, and to be out of your dorms after classes, with the exception of Dinner, for all of this semester. After Dinner, both of you are to report to the library to work for two hours, everyday. No exceptions."

Before I could stop myself, I sputtered, "What?"

The principal raised an eyebrow at me, as if to say '_You dare contradict me, petulant child?'_

I covered my mouth. "I'm sorry." I said quickly, going back to staring at my hands.

"You are both dismissed." Principal Dragmire said as he turned his back to us.

I guessed that meant we were free to go, so I stood from my chair, and headed for the door.

"Oh and Mr. McCormick," I heard Principal Dragmire say as I reached for the door handle. "Please keep your distance from my son, he's been complaining about your harassment for a while now."

I snuck a peek at Link. He was glaring at the principal, hands clenched into fists. "Yes, sir." He managed between clenched teeth.

I looked back to the door, sending a silent prayer to the Goddess' neither of them noticed me eavesdropping, and slipped out of the intimidating office with a sigh of relief.

* * *

Later that night, I lay in bed with my cell phone to my ear. I had first called my mom and told her about my day – leaving out the food fight, of course. I then called home, to find Impa answering the phone.

"Zelda!" My stepmother's voice rang from the other side of the phone. "How was your first day, my dear?"

I sighed into the receiver. "You got time?"

So I explained everything to her, knowing it was safe to do so, since it wasn't in her nature to freak about things like my parents do.

"Wow." Impa breathed. "So, it was a full day."

I sighed. "You could say that."

"Well, I have to say; one, you're an idiot and two, that was very noble of you. But, just as stupid."

I rolled over on my bed. "Yeah. I know."

There was a pause. "Zelda, you know my previous offer still stands, right?"

"Yes." I sighed into the phone for about the millionth time. "But, somehow, I don't feel like I can leave this place. Besides, I doubt Dad will let me leave."

"You sure?" Impa asked, not believing me the slightest. "Because I could try to convince him."

I nodded, and then realized she couldn't see me nod. "Yes." I added before she could accuse me of hesitating.

"Alright, if you say so." Impa said with a small sigh. "I assume you don't want me to tell your father?"

"No." I hung my head. "And, when the school calls – please don't let him answer the phone."

"Alright."

I could almost feel her disapproving stare from here.

"Call again soon." Impa said quietly. "Your father has never said it, but he really misses you."

I nodded slowly to myself. "Yeah… I miss him too. And you, and mom, and my old friends." I sighed quietly – which I've been doing a lot in this phone call. "Not that I don't like anybody around here, it's just, they've all been friends for so long. I feel like an intruder, even though none of them have treated me like one."

_Well, one person has, but screw him. _I thought irritably, remembering Link's rude treatment toward me.

"I'm sure none of them see you as one either." Impa assured me. "You're probably over-thinking things again."

I pressed my cell closer to my ear. "Wanna bet?" I asked, attempting a raised eyebrow. "That guy I was talking about before treats me like I'm an outsider. Worse, he treats me like I'm an _unwelcome _outsider."

"Maybe he's got a thing for you?" Impa offered. "I hear men are like that. They treat the girls they like badly because they have a hard time with their—"

I cut her off, stifling a giggle. "Boys aren't like that past first-grade!"

Impa let out a relived laugh, obviously glad to have cheered me up a bit. "It's only a theory, my dear."

On the other side of the line, I heard a distant crash.

"What was that?" I asked, slightly alarmed

Impa cursed a particularly naughty word. "That new maid your father hired last week just broke a vase."

I stifled another laugh. "Oops."

"Oops indeed." Impa sighed stressfully. "I'm sorry Zel, she's crying and begging for my forgiveness right now, I have to – No, I'm not taking away your pay check! Relax, kid!"

I grinned into my phone. "Bye, Impa."

"Goodbye, Zel – hey! No! Get off your knees!"

The phone went dead as I let out a small giggle.

Next I tried calling my old friends, but none of them picked up their phones.

With a small grunt of frustration, I settled for sending each of them a text. I threw my phone onto the desk that sat leaning against the far wall, and grabbed my sketchbook and a pencil.

I sat down on my bed, my back leaning against the cool wall, and started to sketch.

I wasn't sure what exactly I was sketching; it was almost as if my pencil was moving without my consent. My mind wasn't paying any attention to what my hand was producing, instead my thoughts were elsewhere. Where exactly? I wasn't sure.

I glanced down at my page, shocked to find Link smiling back at me.

"What'cha drawing?" A voice asked.

I jumped to find Malon peering at me from over my sketchbook. I clutched the book to my chest. "I don't know." I lied.

"Well then," Malon said, a big grin slowly spreading across her lips. "Lemme see, and I'll tell you."

Before I could stop her, she reached over and snatched the book from my grasp.

"You really need to stop doing that!" I snapped as I watched her smile grow larger than humanly possible.

"You drew him again!" Malon exclaimed, having a field-day with my embarrassment.

"Mal!" I hissed. "Farore, Din and Nayru! Someone will hear you!"

Malon shook her head, grinning manically at me. "Good Goddess, Miss Zellie!" She giggled. "Someone's in luh-_ove!" _

"I am not!" I protested. "And I could do far better!"

"But you don't want to." Malon said with a snicker. "Because you are totally enamoured with Mr.—!"

"Don't say his name!" I practically yelled. "People will hear and think you're serious!"

Malon laughed and handed me my sketchbook – which I hugged protectively to my chest – before flopping backwards onto her horse-covered bed.

"So, were you sentenced to life in prison?" Malon asked, her hyper mood sobered.

"Nope." I said as I pulled my legs crossed onto my bed. "But I'm forbidden to leave the dorm or attend any school dances for the rest of the semester."

Malon whistled. "That's rough."

"Oh and get this," I said as Malon propped herself onto her elbows. "I also have to work in the Library for two hours, every single day, for the whole semester."

Malon bit her lip sympathetically. "Oh. My. Goddess'. That sounds awful."

"Yup," I agreed, slumping against the wall my bed leaned up against. "It's really the icing on the cake I never got to eat."

"There's a bright side." Malon told me. "I mean, you won't be alone, right? Link will be suffering along with you."

I sighed. "At least I can take pleasure in that fact."

"Zel, that not what I meant!" Malon huffed. "Do you have any idea how many girls would kill to be in your situation?"

I cocked my head, not understanding.

Malon grunted, annoyance evident on her face. "You know about ninety percent of the female population of this school is at least halfway in love with Link, right? The other ten percent is taken, or me."

"Huh?" Was all I could come up with.

"Seriously?" Malon crossed her arms, staring down at me incredulously. "You never noticed that the guy pretty much has his own fan base?"

I shrugged. "Not really, no."

Malon shook her head. "I guess you were too busy gazing at him to notice the rest of the world."

I threw my pillow at her. "Shut up. I did not gaze!"

Malon snickered and sent the pillow back at me. "You were totally staring," She told me. "Your mouth was hanging open and everything."

"What?" My cheeks burned. "No it wasn't… was it?"

"Calm down, Zel. I'm kidding." Malon held up one hand, stifling laughter with her other.

"You're mean." I muttered, staring at my hands. "You make fun of me when I saved everyone from an unfair punishment."

"You didn't even have to though." Malon said a matter-of-factly. "You could've said nothing and no one except Link would've been punished."

"So ungrateful…" I continued, ignoring her very true comment. "Really, I should've just told the principal it was you, and then I wouldn't have to deal with these horrid consequences."

"You probably did it on purpose so that you could have more time with your little love-squeeze." Malon teased.

I couldn't help but blush a feverish red, which wasn't exactly supporting my denial.

"Just because I'm, like, slightly attracted to him, doesn't mean I—!" I covered my mouth, realizing what had just slipped out.

_Shit!_ I cursed silently. _Please, tell me she didn't catch that!_

I glanced up to find Malon sitting up, staring at me wide-eyed with her mouth hanging open slightly. A huge smile broke out on her face and she laughed out loud.

"You admitted it! Oh sweet merciful Din, you actually admitted it!"

I mentally slapped myself. _You idiot! Now look what you've done! You'll never hear the end of this!_

"It's only physical attraction!" I yelled, my face heating up again.

"What?" Malon asked, her eyes growing more amused by the second. "Are you saying you want to—?"

"No!" I buried my face in my hands. "No… Please, I beg of you. No more."

Malon chuckled one last time and fell back onto her bed. "Ah, Zellie. You really are something, you know."

"What do you mean?" I asked, cautiously peeking out from between my fingers.

"You're like a legend around here." Malon explained. "On your first day, you've managed to be noticed by the creepiest guy and the bitchiest girl in school, almost kill yourself, develop a thing for the most popular guy," —I cringed inwardly— "And, to top it all off; gotten yourself in the absolute worst trouble possible without getting expelled. Like I said, you're a legend."

"The Legend of Zelda." I said wryly, finally pulling my face away from my hands. "Hmm… that has a nice ring to it."

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, Malon was shaking me awake.

"Wakie, wakie, Sleeping Beauty." Malon said in my ear loudly. "Or I'll get the water bucket."

"You don't even own a bucket." I mumbled into my pillow.

There was an indignant huff. "Fine. I won't get the bucket, but I will slap you."

I ignored her and pulled my duvet tighter to my body. "Go away."

"Zel, if you don't get out of bed now, I'll take a picture of you and send it right to Link."

My eyes flew open. "That's illegal!" I protested as I shot up in bed.

Malon stood next to my bed with her arms crossed, still clad in her designer pyjamas and horse-slippers. "Honey, we're rich." She smirked. "We can get around those silly little things called 'laws'."

I pointed at her. "You're – dare I say it – just as evil as Sabrina!"

Malon grinned wickedly, rubbing her hands together like an mad scientist. "Eh hee hee… thank you."

I threw my covers off my legs and climbed out of bed. "I don't suppose breakfast is served in bed, is it?"

"Nope. We gotta get dressed in our uniforms and head to the dining hall." Malon said, meanwhile sifting through her closet.

I groaned and made my way to my own closet. "Brilliant. That's exactly what I want to do first thing in the morning."

Malon let out a hard laugh. "Welcome to Hylia, Zelda."

I nodded for no apparent reason and pulled out my uniform; a gold and blue-plaid kilt, a white blouse, and a deep-blue blazer bearing a tiny HA and a miniature pair of wings stitched in gold thread on the breast.

_Ugh. I'm going to look terrible in that._ I thought to myself.

"You want the shower first?" I asked, staring distastefully at my uniform.

"Sure." Malon replied, grabbing her shower gear off our desk and heading for the bathroom.

"Don't take too long!" I called after her.

She waved that off and closed the door behind her.

I had time to kill while I waited for my turn in the shower, so I grabbed my sketchbook, sat down at the desk and started drawing. Once again, my hands seemed to move without my permission. Soon, I had fully drawn and shaded a picture of two people.

It was a man and a woman, sitting in what looked like a large garden. The woman was sitting with her back propped up against a brick wall; the man lay with his head on her lap. Neither one of them looked much older than me, but there was something about them that gave the aura that they were aged mentally.

The girl was wearing a simple, flowing dress, her light hair tied back in ribbons. Judging by her expression, she was clearly smitten with the boy on her lap. Her eyes watched him with a deep sort of tenderness that I couldn't help but smile at. The boy looked to be asleep, but his peaceful face somehow seemed to mirror the girl's tenderness.

I looked back to the girl again, this time my eyes widened and crimson blush crept onto my face.

The girl was… _me. _

Sure, she was dressed in a way I would never dress, and she looked really girly and feminine; the opposite of me, but there was no doubt in my mind that this girl was me.

A truly horrible thought occurred to me at that moment.

_The boy… he… I didn't… draw _him_… did I…?_

I was almost too afraid to check, fearing my head might just explode if my suspicions were confirmed.

My heart pounded on the verge of a heart attack as I slowly moved my gaze to the boy in the drawing.

Drawn in rough pencil, his face slack with sleep, was Link. His face was peaceful and his expression wasn't bored or arrogant like it usually is, but it was certainly him.

_Oh. My. Goddess._ I thought, ripping the page clean from my sketchbook. _I actually drew us in a romantic scene! _

I should rip it to shreds, then burn it… then flush the ashes down the toilet. I should exterminate all evidence of this drawing's existence.

_I should destroy it._ I thought, staring down at the drawing. _Any sane person would if they were in my situation. But I… I just can't do it. I don't want to disrupt them._

I knew I was being an idiot – I'd been doing that a lot lately – but instead of ruining the drawing, I shoved it into the underside of my pillow case. Something about that drawing was too precious to destroy. Some part of me, and I don't know how potent that part is, held this scene close to its heart.

I snapped out of my stupor as Malon exited the bathroom, fully dressed in her uniform with her hair wrapped up in a towel.

"Bathroom's all yours." She said, uncoiling the cord of her hairdryer.

"Thanks." I murmured, throwing my sketch pad onto my bed.

Malon must have seen my embarrassment on my face, because she froze; now wearing a curious expression. "Zel… are you alright?"

I blinked at her, trying my best to sound confused. "Y-yeah, why?"

Malon pressed her lips together, cocking a copper eyebrow at me. "You look… a little flustered."

_Crap._ I thought, gnawing on my lower lip. _If she sees that picture, she'll think I like him even more._

"What?" I looked over my shoulder in a lame attempt to hide my face. "No, I'm fine."

By the look on her face, Malon was obviously not buying it. Clearly, acting was not my forte.

"Oh. Okay." She said after a moment, deciding to drop it.

I let out the breath I had been holding, grabbed my shower gear and my uniform, and headed for the bathroom.

"But Zel," Malon's voice said from behind me. "You should know, you can't hide it from me forever."

I looked over my shoulder at her, sending her the most confident smile I could muster, though my face was still blazing. "Sure I can."

* * *

Awkward.

That's really the only word to describe how I felt right now; just… awkward.

It was breakfast, and everyone was sitting in the exact order we sat in at dinner yesterday, which meant I was sitting across from the one person who I wanted to avoid the most. Considering the situation this morning, my face was burning bright-red, and showed no signs of cooling. Not to mention, Link looked _really _good in a uniform. Like, _too _good. It was simply not fair to the female population of the world. Where exactly is the justice in letting someone that is such a jerk be so… _good looking?_ I didn't even want to think about the fact that I'd have to spend two whole hours with the guy tonight.

So, to prevent future outbreaks of humiliation; I sat mutely, concentrating on my pancakes harder than I would on an exam.

"Zelda," A voice said next to me.

I nearly jumped out of my seat, and turned to a very amused Malon, panting slightly from the shock.

"Yes?" I asked breathlessly.

"You may want to start actually, you know, _eating_," She said, gesturing to my untouched pancakes. "Breakfast is over in a few minutes."

I blinked. "Oops. Spaced out." I said with a nervous smile that probably resembled a grimace more than anything.

Across the table, Ruto giggled. "You've been awful spacey today, what's the matter? You got someone on your mind? A boyfriend?"

I couldn't stop my face from flushing. "No!" I said quickly – way too quickly to be convincing.

Worst of all, I made the awful mistake of glancing in Link's direction. He seemed pretty amused watching me squirm, and was smiling ever-so-slightly, which of course – because I am a hormone-crazy teenager – caused me to blush even more.

"She totally does!" Saria announced loudly.

"Aww… don't tease little Zellie-pooh." Malon said, wrapping and arm around my shoulders. "It's not her fault she's become so smitten. Love is like that; unpredictable."

"It's not love." I muttered, once again making eye-contact with my food.

"Then it's a crush." Ruto said.

"Totally a crush." Saria agreed.

"It's a crush alright." Malon giggled. "What do you think, Kar?"

"It's definitely a crush!" Karane declared from the end of the table. "Any thoughts, Nab?"

I looked over to Nabooru, my eyes begging her to rescue me. She grinned evilly and put down her fork, ignoring my silent plea for help.

"S'a crush."

"You guys are sadistic." I muttered

"We know, but a panicky Zellie is such a cute one!" Malon told me, patting my shoulders.

"See?" I pointed out. "Sadistic!"

Ruto laughed and rested her chin on her hand. "Can't you just accept our cruelty like a good little girl?"

I pointed at her. "You are seriously twisted."

"It's my specialty." Ruto shrugged. "You really should eat though."

I stared down at my plate. Honestly, I wasn't really hungry. My stomach was already full of butterflies.

* * *

As if breakfast wasn't awkward enough, I also had the added bonus of having Link in _all _of my classes; as well as being paired up to sit with him in two of them. Luckily, English class didn't have desks in pairs. However, the teacher still had us sitting close to one another.

Really, for someone who is trying to avoid him, I was doing a crappy job of it.

My English teacher was a pretty red-headed woman (I was beginning to think Hylia Academy was the second largest concentration of redheads after Ireland) who couldn't be much older than her mid-twenties. Her title was Miss. Twili, but she told us to call her Midna. Apparently, we'd all get zeros if she was ever called Miss Twili. Her sarcasm and constant insults made me immediately take a liking to her. I also couldn't help but notice most of the guys in the room were watching her a little too intently, while all the girls were watching none other than Link just as keenly.

My French teacher was an older woman with red hair (Hylia Academy is definitely next to Ireland for having the most red-heads) done up in an extravagant hairstyle that probably took hours to accomplish. Madame Dotour was kind of an odd woman; she had about a billion little knickknacks piled on her desk, and always had tea with her for some reason. She was short, and a bit on the chubby side, but she was certainly nice enough for my liking.

My History teacher was a much older man, who should probably already be retired, but he was still kicking, and I respect that. Mr. Gaebora was sort of a stern guy, but you could hear his love for history in the way he spoke about it. He was a tall, round man with a white beard and an almost completely bald head. For some reason, he sort of reminded me of Santa Claus.

I sat in the plastic IKEA-style chair in History class, tapping my pen against my teeth absentmindedly, meanwhile trying my hardest to ignore my desk-mate. Mr. Gaebora was talking about the story of the hero and the princess of destiny, which was one of my favourite stories to listen to. Something about the story had always fascinated me more than anything else in school, though I wasn't sure why.

"Does anyone know the name of the sword the hero used in his conquests?"

No one in the room raised their hand.

"Yes, Mr. McCormick?"

I glanced over at Link, who was actually slowly putting down his hand. I must not have seen him raise his hand since I was avoiding looking anywhere in his general direction.

"The Master Sword." He said, shaking his sandy-coloured hair from his eyes.

"Very good!" Mr. Gaebora complemented, seeming genuinely impressed.

I shared the teacher's shocked/impressed expression. _How did he know that? There's so little known about the hero._

"Wow," A girl in front of me murmured to her friend. "Cute _and _smart."

I furrowed my brow in annoyance. How exactly does knowing one random fact mean you're a genius? I mean, yeah, I was caught off guard by the fact that he knew that, but I'm not about to deem him the next Einstein.

"Moving right along," Mr. Gaebora continued. "It is known that both the hero and the princess were keepers of an all-powerful force called the Triforce. Apparently, there was also the mark of the Triforce imprinted somewhere on their bodies, though no one knows where or what they look like."

Around the room, there were a few rude jokes and giggles about _where _exactly the marks were, but I blocked them out. I loved this story too much to let that ruin for me. I leaned forward onto my desk and rested my chin on my hands, trying to listen to the lesson.

It was hard to concentrate though, since next to me, Link was drumming his fingers on the desk almost nervously.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

Link looked at me, an odd emotion flickering in his blue irises for a split second, before reverting back to his usual bored expression. "Everything's just dandy." He murmured through unmoving lips.

"Then stop that." I hissed, gesturing to his still tapping fingers. "It's annoying, and I'm trying to listen to the story."

"Why?" Link muttered. "It's not like it actually happened."

"What?" I demanded in a venom-filled whisper. "You—!"

"Miss Harkinian!" Mr. Gaebora snapped. "Is my teaching getting in the way of your conversation?"

"I-I'm sorry, sir!" I apologized, sliding lower into my seat. "Please… um… continue."

A few giggles echoed through the classroom, before the bell that signified that class was over rang loudly.

"Remember to bring your binders tomorrow, class. You will be getting handouts, that I can assure you of." Mr. Gaebora's voice said over the sound of chairs scraping against the floor.

I got up and gathered all my stuff as fast as possible, and attempted to make a beeline for the door – I just wanted to get away from my 'desk buddy' as fast as I could.

Since apparently I hadn't been exposed to enough humiliation today, I managed to catch my ankle on something and stumbled right into Link; which earned me an annoyed glare from both him, and most of the other girls in the class. Ignoring them, I looked behind me to see what I'd tripped on, only to find none other than Sabrina standing there, twisting an ebony strand of hair on her finger.

"You should really watch where you walk," Sabrina said as she passed me. "It's dangerous when you don't pay attention to your surroundings." She smiled sweetly at me, but I could hear the threat behind her words.

I sighed deeply.

Between being threatened by the Dragmire children, the possibility of going insane from being trapped in my dorm, and spending an over-excessive amount of time with the world's hottest jackass, this year will be a ridiculously long one.

* * *

**Whew! That chappy took FOREVER to sound even remotely decent. Whatever, I got it done, right? That's all that matters! I'm kinda disappointed though, I really wanted to write the first Library punishment in this chapter! Oh well, I suppose I'll wait for the next one. **

**Oh and, if it's not TOO much trouble… could you maybe… leave a review? I always feel so utterly overjoyed when I receive a review! :)**


	5. Two Hours of Hell

**Ohh… this chapter was fun to write – but was also really difficult to write too…**

**So... yeah, here's chapter 5 n' stuff.**

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Two Hours of Hell**

The library of Hylia Academy was massive. Unnecessarily so, like something straight out of a movie.

It was a giant circular room filled with endless stacks, all arranged in neat rows. Large marble pillars held up the second floor, which was no doubt filled with even more honking book shelves.

"Holy crap," I breathed to myself.

I realized at that moment that I really had no idea where we were supposed to meet, or who to even talk to about the work I was supposed to be doing for the rest of the semester.

_Well, this is starting off swimmingly._I thought after I had walked past the sci-fi section for about the fifth time. _It hasn't even started yet, and I'm already lost._

I grunted in frustration and kept moving. But damn, this place was big and confusing; easy to get lost in.

Finally, I started to hear the distant echoes of a voice. I followed the sound, and found myself in a bookshelf-free clearing filled with rows of dark-wood tables. Among the rows of tables, I spotted Principal Dragmire pacing back and forth while giving Link a long speech about 'proper behaviour in the Dining Hall' and how 'we need to preserve the school's reputation'.

"Miss Harkinian!" The principal said as I approached. "How nice of you to grace us with your presence!"

I grit my teeth and sat down in a different table from Link. No way was I going to sit anywhere near him voluntarily.

"Now that you are both present," Principal Dragmire said. "I leave your punishment to Mr. Greene." He clamped a hand on the shoulder of the orange-haired boy next to him.

The guy couldn't have been any older than Midna, and may have even been pretty cute had he not flattened his hair down or sported those Harry Potter-style glasses. In his hand he held a book, which he was cradling as if it was his first-born child or something.

"Y-yes." The guy said, nervously pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Don't be easy on these two, Mr. Greene." Principal Dragmire said, sending both of us glares. "These are the hooligans who caused the incident in the Dining Hall." He gave the guy a stern look before walking off.

After the principal was gone, Mr. Greene visibly relaxed and he smiled, but still a bit nervously.

"Um, well," Mr. Greene said, switching his book-child to his other hand. "Y-you two should work on restocking the shelves with the returned books in these carts." He gestured to a silver cart next to him that was overflowing with books.

I put up my hand.

"Uh, y-yes?"

I pointed to Link, who raised a brow at me. "Will I have to work with him?"

"Y-yes." Mr. Greene pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose again. "Principal Dragmire told me t-to make sure you worked t-together."

I leaned back into my admittedly comfy chair, silently fuming. _That bastard principal! He probably noticed we didn't get along and decided this was the best way to torture us. Evil bastard._

"I-if either of you have a-any questions, please feel free to speak with me. A-and if you'd like, you c-can call me Shad."

I nodded and faked a smile. I mean, it wasn't this guy's fault we were being punished so cruelly; in fact, he seemed uncomfortable with the whole situation and was clearly scared of Principal Dragmire.

"Are these books all going to the same place?" I asked.

"Y-yes." Shad said, awkwardly switching the hand that held his book again. "These are all History books."

I nodded and stifled a groan. "When do we start?"

"Uh, now, I guess." Shad said before moving behind the big Librarian's desk, as if to hide from us.

I stood up from my chair and grabbed hold of the cart, attempting to push it, but it was really heavy; so I only managed to move it an inch before I was panting.

"Move over." Link's voice said from behind me.

His voice was nice. As much as I hated to admit it, I liked it a lot. Deep and husky, but also angelic and velvety… almost soothing, in a way.

_Ugh._I thought as I stepped out of his way. _Why does virtually everything about this guy seem so perfect on the surface?_

To my extreme dismay, Link pushed the cart effortlessly over to the non-fiction section. I am absolutely _not_noticing how his lean muscles on his arms bulged attractively from the strain of pushing the heavy cart. Nor am I noticing how good he looks in the forest-green t-shirt and dark jeans he wore. I'm really _not_… and even if I was, what's the harm in admiring the scenery? I mean, it's not like I had genuine interest, right?

Rather than answer that question, I flicked an imaginary piece of lint off my pink 'MAKE ART NOT WAR' t-shirt, and straightened my already perfectly fine cut-offs. Yeah, I knew I was stalling, but I've always been a procrastinator. This was nothing new.

I then realized that Link had kept walking; which meant I was standing alone in the middle of the library, adjusting my clothes and looking like the idiot I was.

With a huff, I jogged over to the History section, where Link was already starting to put the books back onto their shelves.

"You could've waited for me." I said frostily as I approached him.

"You seemed pretty preoccupied with adjusting your clothing. I didn't want to disturb you." Link replied, his back turned to me.

I glared at him, resisting the urge to roundhouse-kick him in the annoyingly-attractive face. I marched over to the book cart and grabbed a few hard-cover books.

I read the bindings and started sliding them into their rightful places. "Well you should've," I said after a moment. "You owe me."

"How?" Link asked from behind me.

"Hey," I whirled around to look at him, surprised when I found him no more than half-a-foot away. My thoughts immediately became jumbled because of his closeness. "W-uh… well I kept my mouth shut about the forest."

"You mean after you eavesdropped?" Link asked, moving into kissing-distance… _not_that I was thinking about that sort of thing!

"Y-yes—wait no!" I concentrated on looking over his shoulder, some of the fog in my brain clearing up. "I—you owe me answers!"

"Oh really?" Link put his arms on either side of me, blocking the accessible escape routes. "What makes you think that?"

"I—!" I tried to avoid looking at his face or into his eyes, because I could so _not_ afford to get lost in those blue depths. "I-I could've told anyone about it, b-but I didn't."

_Dammit._I cursed inwardly. _He's using my reactions to him to his advantage!_

I clutched the remaining books I held to my chest tightly, unintentionally inhaling his strangely intoxicating scent – soap and a hint of pine needles. It shouldn't smell good… but it does.

I blinked a few times, and tried to calm my hammering heart unsuccessfully. The possible worst part of all of this has to be the fact that none of this felt wrong in the least, it felt… this closeness felt… _familiar._

I sucked in a deep breath, and met Link's gaze boldly. "I want you to tell me what happened in those woods." I demanded in a voice that was supposed to sound firm, but just ended up sounding winded.

A small smile graced his lips. "All right. I had a sword fight with Drake."

"No." I said as my cheeks warmed due to that smile. "I want to understand why you were fighting so seriously."

He just stood there, holding my gaze, and I figured he wasn't going to answer.

Then, out of nowhere, he murmured, "He threatened someone I care about a lot."

"What is she to you?" I asked quietly, moving my gaze to the book in my hands.

"You'll have to find out for yourself." Link said softly.

It took a moment for that to sink in. When it did, my head snapped up, nearly smacking into his.

"Who is she?" I asked, wincing slightly when the question coming out far sharper than intended.

Link dropped both his arms, and stepped back. "I won't tell you that." He said with a smirk.

Whatever little 'moment' we had there a second ago was gone, and we were back to being harass-mates.

Finally able to breathe with the distance between us, I blew my long side-bangs out of my face and returned his smirk. "Please! Any idiot could infer that you were talking about your girlfriend. Don't even try to convince me otherwise." I slid a book into place on the shelf next to me. "Oh well, I suppose I'll have to stay up all night with Malon and the other girls and try to figure it out."

I looked over to Link, testing his reaction. I noticed he paled slightly at those words.

_It must be one of them._ I thought. _Otherwise he wouldn't care if I talked about it to them._

"Don't talk to any of them about it." He said after a long pause, grabbing a handful of books and sticking them onto their shelves. "They'll all have a field-day with it."

"So why tell me in the first place?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips.

Link stopped working and sent me another crooked smile. "Where's the fun in telling you all the answers when I could watch you try to find them for yourself?"

"You're a cryptic bastard."

"And you're a nosy bitch."

"Hey," I said as I walked over to the book cart. "At least I'm straightforward about my nosy bitchiness."

I reached over for a book at the same time Link did, our hands brushing as an odd current flowed through our fingertips. It didn't _feel_ like a static shock, but it was the only thing that made sense. I ripped my hand away from his as if I still believed in cooties.

"What was that?" I asked breathlessly, caressing my tingling fingers.

"I think it was just a shock." Link said, staring at his own gloved hand.

I wasn't sure if I believed that, but I decided to drop it.

"You wear gloves?" I said, changing the subject. "Why?"

He sent me in infuriatingly sexy smile. "I'm setting a trend."

_Really._ I thought to myself. _He needs to put up a sign of warning to all females._**_Caution: Sexy. Woman with heart conditions are advised not to look directly._**

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest, trying to ignore the heat that rushed to my face; both from the smile and the weird thoughts I'd just been having. "Has it caught on yet?"

Link shook his head. "Nope, but give it time."

I snorted rather unattractively and snatched a few more books. "Yes, only time will tell."

There was a moment of silence as we both worked.

"There's more I want to know about you. You know, I won't keep my mouth shut forever if I'm left in the dark." I said after a moment. "Specifically, I'd like to know how you managed to heal your face perfectly in less than two hours."

"Hmm." Was all he said.

"Hmm?" I repeated. "That answers nothing."

"I was just thinking that while you're drilling me for answers, you're actually learning a lot about me, meanwhile I know nothing about you."

I grunted in annoyance. "Fine. Ask me anything and I'll answer." I offered as I shoved a book into place with unnecessary force.

Link was thoughtful for a moment. "You'll probably regret saying that, you know."

"…What exactly do you plan to ask me?" I asked suspiciously, furrowing my brow at him.

He leaned up against a bookshelf and crossed his arms, giving me a smile that made me nervous.

"Have you ever had a boyfriend?"

_Wait… is he asking about my love-life?_

My cheeks immediately reddened. "Eh? Why do you need to know that?"

Link merely shrugged. "Told you you'd regret it."

"It—that's so personal!" I protested weakly.

"So are the questions you asked me."

I opened my mouth, my mind reeling for a good argument.

You know that awkward moment when your mouth opens and no words come out and you end up standing there, looking like a fish that's oxygen drowning? Yeah, well… that's pretty much what happened.

"Fine!" I caved, my cheeks going redder. "I've never had one before. Are you happy now?"

Link pushed himself off the shelf and smirked at me. "Ecstatic."

"Now it's my turn!" I practically yelled, as if the volume of my voice would somehow cover up my humiliation. "The cut Drake gave you, where did it go?"

"It's still here." Link told me, pointing to his cheek.

I squinted. "I don't see it."

He moved closer, and I noticed a small pink line across his cheek. It was faint, and slightly puckered; looking like it was weeks old rather than days.

"How did you—?" I began, but was cut off.

"Sorry, but you'll have to answer another question if you want another question answered."

"Alright." I sighed. "Fair is fair. Ask away."

"Are you a virgin?"

That one straight up shocked me. _Whoa whoa whoa… back up! Now he wants to know about my sex-life? Where the hell did that come from?_

"W-what?" I sputtered, eyes wide. "Why would you ask something like that?"

Link just stared, awaiting an answer.

_Oh, I see._ I thought, glaring at my shoes. _He's trying to get me to back out so that he won't have to answer anything else._

"Yes, okay." I said, not daring to look up. "I am."

He squinted at me for a moment, as if trying to read my face, then turned his back on me. "I don't believe you."

"What?" I gasped. "Are you calling me a slut?" I demanded as I marched up next to him and jabbed a finger in his face.

Link shrugged and slowly moved my hand back to my side. "No, I just don't believe you're as innocent as you say."

"You're a jackass." I muttered. "I was an idiot to do this with you."

"Well, I didn't exactly ask for you to do it."

"And I wish I hadn't. Haven't we been over this?" I said, not caring how sharp my voice came out this time.

We worked in silence for a few agonizingly awkward minutes.

"You do know I was joking, right?" Link said, breaking the silence. "You don't have to take things so seriously."

I bit my lip out of sheer rage.

"Well, alright Mister Purity," I growled, crossing my arms angrily and fixing him with a glare. "What about you? Are you still in possession of your V-word?"

He raised both eyebrows. "What do you think?"

I ground my teeth, fed up with all these ambiguous answers. "I think fencing isn't your only extra-curricular!" I snapped before turning my back on him.

For a moment, even I didn't quite grasp what I'd just said. Then the realization came crashing down on me that I'd just made a dirty joke, and I damned my sarcasm to the deepest pits of hell. I turned back to Link, expecting the worst.

He was staring at me in complete shock, his deep blue eyes wider than I'd ever seen them.

Then he burst out laughing.

I covered my mouth in a fit of giggles as well, and within seconds we were both sitting on the cushy red carpet, gasping for air between laughter. I leaned backwards, and my shoulders came into contact with his. I didn't jerk away like I usually would; I was too high off lack of oxygen.

It was… kind of nice.

_What is this?_I wondered to myself. _Am I actually… getting along with him?_ The very thought caused my face to turn bright-red.

To avoid an embarrassing action that would potentially ruin the moment, I pretended that I was fascinated by the colourful bindings on each of the books on the shelf. Perhaps then I could blame my red face on the title of one of the books? Somehow, it didn't seem believable that _The Complete History of the Common Cuckoo _would cause my face to go so hot you could cook an egg on it.

"Erm…" A voice stammered.

I turned to find Shad standing at the entrance of the History section, staring at Link and I as if he'd just caught us in the act of making out or something.

"Y-your time is up."

I stood up and brushed myself off, face blazing as if we _had _been making out.

Wordlessly, Shad speed-walked away, presumably to go hide back behind the librarian's desk again.

I sighed and grabbed hold of the handles of the now almost-empty-cart.

"I'll put it back," Link murmured next to me, causing me to jump. "You can go back to your dorm."

A part of me wanted to refuse him, but I kept my mouth shut and left the library without another word.

* * *

I was on my way back to my dorm when I saw something glimmering on the ground. Curious, I moved toward it. It was someone's bejewelled cell phone, nestled in the thick grass.

I picked it up, turning it around in my hands. It looked expensive, whoever it belonged to would probably want it back.

"I should take this to the office." I muttered to myself, as if explaining to some invisible force that I wasn't stealing it.

I turned around and headed back to the main-school building.

I walked down the vacant halls with a cold finger running down my spine. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. Not only that; but every once in a while, I would see an occasional flash of black from the corner of my eye, but wouldn't see anything when I looked. I shivered and kept making my way to the main office.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of listening to my own footsteps, I found the office and pushed through the frosted-glass doors.

Someone was already in the office, in a familiar forest-green t-shirt, leaning over the secretary's desk.

_Link?_ I wondered, staring at his turned back. _What's he doing here?_

"Look, I need you to completely change my timetable. I don't care how you change it or what teachers I get, I just need it done."

"Listen sweetie," The woman behind the counter said. "All the classes are packed tight. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to stick it out for the year."

"You don't understand." His voice got lower with anger and frustration. "There's someone in all of my classes who shouldn't be. I need to move classes now."

It felt as if I had been slapped. It was me he was talking about. It had to be, after all; I was in all his classes and I hadn't seen anyone else who shared that fact. Was I hated that much?

But, in the library... I thought we'd bonded, even if it was only a little. I thought maybe... we'd become friends, but clearly, I was mistaken. I had completely misread the situation.

I bit my lip as an odd pain punched a hole in my chest. I _was_ hated that much. I'm seeing the proof right in front of me.

They kept arguing about the timetable, but I didn't hear any of it anymore. None of it registered in my brain anymore.

Tears prickled behind my eyes. I blinked, praying I wouldn't actually start crying in the middle of the office.

I took in a shuddery breath and mustered what was left of my dignity. I strolled over to the desk, hoping the secretary wouldn't notice my shiny eyes.

I slapped the lost phone on her desk. "I found this outside." I said, my voice cracking on the last word.

Before either of them could react, I spun around and scurried out of the office, my throat constricting more with each step.

* * *

The moment I stepped through the door of my dorm room, tears instantly started pooling in my eyes.

There was a bright-pink sticky note stuck on Malon's closet. I walked over, the unshed tears blurring the edges of my vision. I grabbed the note and squinted at it.

_Dear Zellie-pooh_

_Went to a movie with the others :) Should be back around 10._

_Luv Mal_

I slowly walked over to my bed and sat down, kicking my sneakers off and tossing the note onto my bedside table. I curled up under the thick covers and wallowed in self-pity, both glad and depressed that Malon wasn't here.

I'd have like to have said I didn't understand why I was so upset about this whole thing; it would've been a lot less pathetic than the truth. But, in reality, I knew exactly what this feeling was.

Disappointment.

I was disappointed that Link didn't like me. I had tried to tell myself that it was only physical attraction, and maybe it was, even though I thought I was above this kind of shallow adoration. I thought I was smarter than to fall for a person's face. But I don't know anymore.

All I know is that I had a crush on Link McCormick, a crush that has been shattered.

The whole ordeal was pathetic. _I_ was pathetic. Falling for a guy I've known for two days? How much more desperate can a person get? No, I'm not desperate; just totally stupid.

I snorted to myself. _As if that's any consolation._

"Pathetic." I muttered, smiling ruefully despite myself. "You're really quite pitiful, aren't you, Miss Harkinian?"

Rolled over and shoved my duvet in own face, cringing when I heard the distinct crackle of paper.

_The drawing. _I remembered as I reached under my pillow and yanked out the damn thing.

I sat up and glowered at the piece of paper, as if it was responsible for my downfall today. And perhaps it was.

A droplet of water splashed onto the drawing. I sat there a moment, wondering where the water had dripped from when the truth dawned on me.

My tears had finally fallen.

* * *

**Aww… I feel so bad for poor little Zellie-pooh… *sniff sniff* Hang in there gurl! Things will get better, I promise!**

**Oh and, as persistent as ever: Review if you feel like it… **


	6. Curiosity Almost Killed the Cat

**Hey, it's me again (Duh)! Sorry about the wait for this chappy, but you know… school combined with the worst case of writers block ever is a bitch… so yeah, I'll ****_try_**** to get the next one out quicker but I make no promises.**

**Warning: This chapter contains Dead Hand, the single most disturbing Zelda enemy in history. You have been warned. Read on… if you dare.**

**…Anywho, onto chapter… 6 is it?**

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Curiosity Almost Killed the Cat**

When I woke up in the morning, I was tangled up in my blankets, still clad in my t-shirt and cut-offs from yesterday. I glanced at my clock, which blared 5:34 a.m. in soft green numbers. I bit back a groan and stretched.

Across the room, Malon still slept, snoring softly.

I slid out of bed and rubbed my eyes groggily. I felt disgusting, and most likely looked it too.

I tiptoed over to the desk and grabbed my shower stuff, then soundlessly ducked into the bathroom.

I jumped at my reflection. Suspicions confirmed; I did look like a mess. My blue eyes had turned red and bloodshot, there were visible tear tracks running down my cheeks, both courtesy of all the crying I did last night. My hair was a huge, tangled mess that devoured my forehead like some sort of carnivorous, man-eating plant that belonged on Discovery Channel rather than atop my head.

I sighed and grabbed my brush, attempting to smooth out the gnarled mess that claimed to be my hair.

After a few minutes of yanking, I deemed my hair impossible and just went for a shower.

In the shower, I gave myself the mental pep-talk I desperately needed.

_Okay, Zel._ I told myself. _You are a strong independent woman who doesn't need the acceptance of some lowly idiot who doesn't understand how freaking amazing you are. You will not shed another tear over the matter, nor will you kick him in the crown jewels for being a stupid, moronic ass-wipe… even though he totally was. Just be cool about it and pretend it never happened._

Yeah, sure. Like I could do that.

Though it _would_ be nice to pretend it never happened, to pretend I hadn't fallen for a jerk in a two-day time period, I couldn't. The ache in my chest and the tears I had cried were proof; proof that I had been stupid enough to let this happen.

I gave my head a nice _thwack. _

_Enough of these pity parties! I'm really starting to annoy myself!_ I thought with a grunt of exasperation.

I blew out a heavy sigh. This newfound 'crush' ordeal had hurt me way more than I'd ever admit out loud. I had cried myself to sleep before Malon had come back to our room; and as much as I hated to admit it, I hadn't cried so much since birth. And it wasn't exactly those delicate, tragically beautiful tears seen on television; oh no, I'd cried big fat, messy tears that made me resemble a red-faced, snot-nosed little five-year-old who just learned ice cream was illegal.

I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, shivering under my big purple towel and immediately missing the warmth of the water.

You know, this whole situation wouldn't be _so_ bad if we weren't in the same group of friends… or had to spend eight agonizing hours together.

Every. Single. Freaking. Day.

I placed my hand to my forehead, wincing when a sudden headache pounded in my temples like a jackhammer. So, even just _thinking _about my craptastic life gives me headaches? Hmmm… that can't be good.

I got dressed and decided to kill time in the lounge, where I hopefully wouldn't wake anyone.

As noiselessly as possible, I slipped out of the bathroom, my dorm room and into the hall.

Impressed with my own stealth, I was continuing down the hall when I noticed a door sitting slightly ajar with hushed voices filtering through.

I stopped walking, curiosity plaguing my mind. If they didn't want people to hear them, why would they leave the door open? As far as I'm concerned, its fair game if I overhear something I wasn't supposed to.

"… did he ask you, Nab?" A familiar voice murmured.

I almost gasped. It was Saria.

"As soon as I walked into his friggin' office, the man starts trying to intimidate and pressure me, hell, he even tried to bribe me. He told me all would be forgiven' if I only joined him again." Nabooru's slightly raspy voice whispered venomously.

"And you said…?" Saria inquired quietly.

"I told him that I knew what side I was on, and that I had no intention of changin' my mind!" Nabooru snapped, her voice rising slightly above a whisper. "I also reminded him I was never really on his side in the first place. He hypnotized me with some kinda freaky spell."

"That's my girl." Saria murmured, a smile in her voice.

"Damn right!" Nabooru agreed in a proud whisper.

"But this is still very bad, even though Nabu rejected his proposition." Another voice muttered worriedly.

I almost gasped out loud again when I realized that it was Ruto speaking.

"Yes," A deep voice I recognized as Darunia agreed quietly, and I was all out of gasps. "He's trying to find allies. That's not good at all. We need to take action soon."

"Do you think she…?" Saria's voice trailed off.

"Knows?" Ruto asked. "No, I doubt it. She seems clueless about everything having to do with the tri—."

"And let's keep it that way." Another voice cut in harshly.

Apparently I had one last gasp left in me, because I was having trouble restraining it when I realized whom that voice belonged to.

One of the girls sighed.

"Link," Saria murmured, her quiet voice sympathetic and strangely soothing. "We all know you… well, that you… that _she_ means a lot to you but—."

"She means way more to me than just a lot, Sar." Link murmured, a hard edge to his voice.

For a moment, it became so silent you could hear a pin drop. I held my breath.

"She's our friend too, you know!" Ruto suddenly burst out, only to be shushed by the others. "But it's true! We don't want this any more than he does!"

"If that were true you wouldn't even consider including her in this."

_Dammit._ I thought irritably. _All this 'her' and 'she' business, but not a single name. But they must be talking about that girl Drake was threatening, right? This could be my chance to find out who she is. _

"Brother," Darunia said quietly. "We're truly sorry, but we have no choice; we have to reveal the truth. We need her just as much as we need you. Trust me, if there was any other option, we'd take it. But there isn't, and we're sorry. "

"No." Was all Link replied with.

"Link—." Saria began softly.

"No." He repeated firmly.

"We have to—!"

Something banged, causing a few glass items to jingle and me to flinch. "I said no, dammit! She doesn't need to be apart of this! I won't watch her…" Link's voice faltered, as if he was in pain. "…Not again…"

Another few solemn moments ticked by, and at this point, guilt started to twist my insides. I mean, these people are my friends! They'd readily welcomed me – Well, most of them did anyway – with open arms and treated me as a friend; and yet here I was, eavesdropping on a private conversation.

I'm pretty much the worst.

I should leave. I should respect their privacy and just go. But for whatever reason, my feet stayed stubbornly in place and my ears continued to listen.

"You're too protective, kid." Nabooru whispered, breaking the dead silence. "You know very well she hates being left in the dark. You also know she wouldn't want people to fight her battles. You're being selfish, which ain't like you."

"I'm not being selfish, I'm protecting her."

"Protecting her?" Ruto snapped suddenly. "From what? Fulfilling her role in all of this? That's a load of bull and you know it. She'd hate to be—!"

"Don't you think I _know _she wouldn't like it? Of course she'd hate it! I'm pretty damn well aware of that fact!" Link sighed heavily, sounding stressed. "But you know what she's like; she'll go march right up to the enemy and get herself…" He trailed off suddenly, as if he didn't want to consider the possibility.

I breathed in deeply and exhaled.

This… was none of my business, and I'd heard far more than enough. Link was clearly in love with someone, and was in a tough situation. I felt like a jerk for listening in on this.

I stepped backward without a noise, ignoring the burning curiosity that gnawed relentlessly on my mind, and padded back to my room without looking back.

* * *

**October**

* * *

I was so curious about the conversation I'd heard, but I couldn't ask anyone about it. Then they'd know I'd eavesdropped. The only thing I truly know, is that whatever it was that they were discussing, it was a lot more serious than any other average teenager should be dealing with.

* * *

**November**

* * *

Malon, Karane, and Pipit all seemed to be ignorant to what was going on with the others. Once, during lunch, I'd asked Malon about the forest behind the school. While she was telling me about it, I noticed Nabu, Ruto and Saria all looked visibly uncomfortable, and suggested a change in the conversation. I wonder; why don't they like the forest?

* * *

**December**

* * *

The months flew by fast, and all throughout this time, that odd conversation I'd overheard plagued my mind. There were so many questions I had, that unfortunately, I could never find answers for.

The library work had slowly become more bearable, however; I found that my crush had only gotten worse.

It seemed as if I was one of _those _girls. You know the ones who can't take a hint? Yeah, I was one of those.

Link despised me; he'd made that fact clear from the beginning. But, my infatuation with him never ceased growing. You'd think that having my guts hated by him would erase _any_ sort of romantic feeling I had toward the guy, but nope. Apparently, I was determined.

It was the small things he'd do that'd make me remember why I felt the way I did, even if they were shortly followed by a cold stare or a blunt comment. In truth, I was still waiting for myself to wake up and realize he wasn't that amazing after all. The only problem was; I already know he hates me, and yet I _still_ have a crush on him. So, there really wasn't much hope for me.

Heh. And I'd thought falling for a guy after two days was bad, now I was crushing on someone who despised me. Boy, I really am an idiot.

But I'm not that bad, I mean, I only get a little flustered around him now. Most of his drooling fan-girls are constantly and shamelessly coming onto him all the time, which I would totally _never_ do.

I walk around the empty forest behind the school, – which I'd recently learned was called the 'Sacred Grove' – sketchbook and pencil in hand.

I was only wearing jeans and a hoodie to shield myself from the frost – This part of Hyrule never snowed, even in December.

Since I had to spend so much time at the dorm, I'd become quick friends with the Dorm Advisor, Anju. The perky redhead had often times blatantly ignored Principal Dragmire's punishment, and let me out of the dorm whenever possible, which was good. Now, at least I wouldn't go stir-crazy.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of walking, I found an absolutely gorgeous spot that I couldn't ignore.

It was a small, round pond, that's surface was akin to a mirror. It was surrounded by thick, ancient trees that twisted into the setting sun overhead. Many tiny fireflies fluttered about in the twilight, making the small glen glow beautifully.

I smiled to myself and settled on the remains of a fallen tree.

Once I'd asked Malon about this forest, and she'd told me it was a sacred ground that supposedly held the Temple of Time, which was the ancient temple where the Hero's sword was said to lie. I suppose that's the reason I feel so drawn to it.

I'd always thought the Hero was, like, the _ultimate_ badass. He was said to be able to know exactly how to kill someone with just about anything, and all he had to do was _touch_ it (I'm not even joking, this is a guy who could figure out how to kill you with a frigging bag of pretzels!). He also apparently had the power to heal extremely fast, had incredible stamina, and was as strong as five men.

I repeat: Bad. Ass.

I laughed lightly to myself and started to sketch the gorgeous scene before me.

For a moment, all I could hear were the rough pencil strokes scraping against the paper, and I was at peace.

I was completely lost in the drawing when a strange, scratching sound snapped me back to reality.

I tensed, more than just a little creeped out.

_What…what is that sound?_

I scanned the little glen, looking for a sign of abnormality. Finally, after an excessively long period of listening to the eerie sound, I noticed something small and bright red sticking out among the grass.

I pressed my lips together, my skin crawling more with every passing second.

Great Goddess, this situation has horror movie written _all_ over it.

With a deep breath, I stood from my spot on the log, and carefully inched my way closer to the little red thing.

I knelt next to the red thing, and gingerly pulled back the grass to reveal a pair of fingers.

…Fingers?

Two bone-white fingers adorned with razor-sharp, blood-red nails scraping together to create a creepy sound, to be exact.

My eyes widened a mile, and I stumbled back with a startled whimper, landing painfully on my ass, and flinging my sketchbook and pencil in random directions.

The scraping stopped abruptly.

I sat there, holding my breath as my heart hammered wildly in my chest, not quite understanding my situation.

What exactly _was_ happening?

Suddenly, the scraping returned, but way louder… almost as if in multiple directions.

I looked around and realized several other red things had popped up in the grass, and were all doing the same creepy scratching noise.

Now I was starting to panic. What the hell is going on?

Then, the absolute last thing I'd ever guess to happen, happened:

A bunch of ghostly pale, bloodstained hands, wielding knife-like nails sprung from the earth.

I let out a bloodcurdling scream when the one closest to me wrapped around my ankle, and threatened to pull me towards it.

"Let go!" I shrieked; kicking the hand away, only to have two more of the hands grab hold of my shoulders and cut easily through the sleeves of my sweater.

_Oh Din! Oh Nayru! Oh Farore! Goddesses help me! What is going on?!_

I tried to twist out of the pasty, bloody hands' grasps, but their deadly finger nails dug deep into my skin, causing me to cry out.

"Help!" I screamed, the sharp pain in my arms causing a small whimper after the words. "Help me! Someone!"

Thin lines of crimson blood started forming, and eventually dripping down my arms from where the hands held me, tight in their iron grips.

"Help me! Please!" I shrieked again, still struggling against the hands, and causing the wounds on my arms to further tear open, and bleed vigorously.

I kicked and flailed, my limbs shooting out in every direction, in the hopes of finding some kind of escape route .It hurt a lot, but it wasn't the worst pain I'd ever felt. I wasn't sure how long I'd been fighting, but I was getting tired, and was quickly tapped of the energy to fight. I slumped in the disgusting hands' grip, utterly exhausted.

My stomach twisted when the rusty, metallic sent of blood filled my nostrils. Hopeless tears prickled my eyes.

Goddess… was I going to die here? Does really no one hear me?

"Help…" I tried one last time. "P-please help me…" But it seemed hopeless, I could hardly talk anymore.

Suddenly, right in front of me, dirt and pebbles blew into the sky in a tiny flurry. I shut my eyes to shield them from the flying dust particles and small stones.

Finally, the dust settled, and I saw what had caused it. And I nearly vomited from the sight.

It was a large and misshapen creature, which was a mess of white flesh and bloodstains. It's unnaturally long neck supported an ugly, bald, humanoid head. Its mouth hung open, almost as if it was unable to close it; exposing rows of humungous, yellowed, uneven teeth. It had arms, but in the place of hands, there were long, dagger-like nails growing from its wrists.

The thing's black, soulless eyes, rimmed with dark rings, stared at me as it shuffled slowly toward me. As it approached, the horrible stench of rotting meat filled my senses, completely over-powering the smell of my own blood.

I heaved, and my jaw hurt. It took me a moment to realize that it was from chattering my teeth, which I hadn't even noticed I was doing. My knees buckled, but I was forced back to my feet by the multiple hands.

Now was _so_ not the time to be going into shock, but I knew I was.

_Oh Goddess… I… I'm not ready to die. Please… someone… save me._ I thought to myself as I squeezed my eyes shut, and willed this nightmare away.

_I'll save you…_ A small voice in the back of my mind murmured... or maybe it was a memory. I wasn't sure anymore. _No matter what, I'll always… come running when you need me… never… ever forget that… Zelda._

I had lost my mind. But I felt it was completely justified, considering I was about to die. That's a pretty damn good reason to lose your marbles, if you ask me.

I hung my head in defeat and prepared myself for my inevitable demise… only it never happened. Curious to why I wasn't dead yet, I looked up.

The creature had several arrows protruding from its side, but since it was undead (I think), this only distracted it for a brief moment. It went back to shambling toward me. But now, I had an inkling of hope glimmering in my chest.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a dark shape creeping up behind the monstrosity that preyed on me. I couldn't see the shape clearly, but it looked almost human.

The beast suddenly cried out in pain, and whirled around surprisingly fast. I spied a large wound slashed across its turned back; oozing what looked to be green blood. My stomach rolled at the sight.

The monster was currently trying to mutilate its attacker, but was unsuccessful. The hands that bound me suddenly dropped my shoulders, and since I no longer had them supporting my weight, I fell limply to the ground. Whether it is from all the struggling or the blood loss, I was beat.

The attacker still had the advantage though, somehow. They were fast and precise with every blow they dealt to the beast, and I couldn't help but notice that they were using a sword and shield, rather than modern weapons. It was strange, but apparently effective.

After a minute of deafening shrieks from the grotesque monster; it finally keeled over, dead.

My eyes – frustratingly enough – slid closed before I could see who my saviour was.

* * *

At this point, I wasn't entirely sure whether I was dreaming or not. My exhausted body felt heavy and numb, and I felt the sensation of being carried bridal-style.

If fully conscious, I probably would've been embarrassed, but I wasn't entirely sure whether I was even alive to the world or not. Hell, I could've imagined being rescued and am actually dead right now. Oh well, ignorance is bliss, as they say.

It was quiet, aside from the sound of twigs snapping under someone's feet every now and then, as I drifted in someone's strong arms – a familiar feeling for some odd reason.

Then, catching me completely off-guard; a voice spoke, sounding strangled and openly worried.

"Why do you always get yourself in these situations?" The voice asked rhetorically. "You've always been a magnet for trouble and I've always got to be there, ready to save you, don't I?"

The voice was deep, probably male. It rumbled deep in the person's chest; I could feel it on the right-half of my body that was pressed against theirs.

Half my brain didn't feel like working, so while the voice sounded recognizable, I couldn't remember to whom it belonged to.

"Goddesses, Zelda…" The voice murmured softly in my ear. "I nearly lost you again."

Now, I really wanted to see who was talking to me. And not only that, I wanted to answer them. But my eyelid stayed stubbornly shut, completely ignoring my demands to open.

"You called us—what the…?" Exclaimed another familiar – but higher-pitched, with a touch of rasp – voice. "Wh-what the hell happened? Her arms..?"

"My Goddesses! What did she…?" Another feminine voice gasped.

"How did this…?" A third, much deeper voice trailed off.

Another voice only squeaked quietly.

"Should we call Rauru? Maybe Im—?"

"Oh, hell no! Not her! She'll kill us for being late!" The slightly raspy voice cut off.

"That's true…" The deepest voice agreed. "Rauru may be the best way to go about this, if we want to survive."

"She's bleeding so much…" The highest, squeakiest voice murmured shakily. A small, warm hand touched my arm tentatively. "At least it's not fatal. Poor Zellie…"

That's my nickname… right? Isn't it? I honestly couldn't remember in my current state.

"That…" The voice of the person holding me muttered, sounding enraged. "_Bastard!_" He finished, talking through clenched teeth. "Why doesn't he just go for me directly? Why does he drag her into this? That miserable piece of shit! I'll kill him for this!"

"Calm down." The highest voice told the one holding me. "You know why we can't just charge at him."

The person holding me growled to himself and shifted me in his arms, but said nothing.

"We… we told you." Said one of the female voices. "We told you this would happen. Even if you don't tell her your… history together, you have to tell her the truth. It's dangerous to carry on like this."

I felt the person holding me sag a little, his shoulders drooping in defeat. "Yeah… I know." His hands tightened on me. "I just… wanted to keep this side of the world from her… so she could live a normal, peaceful life. I didn't think it would be so Goddess-damned difficult!"

"We know…" The highest voice assured him. "You wanted things to be different this time, we can understand that. After all, none of us asked for this fate…"

With every passing second, my curiosity grew and I wanted to wake up more and more. But instead of waking up into the sharp reality where I could make sense of things, I felt myself be pulled back into a dull, dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Hmmm… Gee I wonder who Little Zeldor's saviour was? I mean, it's ****_such _****a mystery! Whoever could it be? (That's some blatant sarcasm right there…)**

**Yeah, anyway… I want to start something I haven't been doing: responding to specific reviews. Why, you ask? Well… cuz, that's why. **

**Princess Zelda-figure skater – you're smart… that's all I'm going to say. ;)**

**Katia0203 – We can only hope that's the case… **

**Neko-chan – Thanks! I'm glad you like it! :)**

**Whosahassa – lol, don't worry. My reviews aren't any more complex. XD**

**Rainbowunicornsparkles – Thanks so much! I did sort of get the idea for Hylia Academy from Skyward Sword's Knight Academy. **

**Thanks to Gotenik, Angela, GlissGirl99, Blacksunset1214, Amychama248, 15, KitaiKnight97, Blahblahblaj, Kat, Metal Chocobo, Lia, Neko X3, Claire, NekoRose66, and uh… Guest(s?) for your reviews. **

**oh and uh... Like, review, or somethin'…**


	7. The Truth is Revealed

**Ahem… I would like to formally apologize for the long wait… especially after saying I'd try to get this chapter out faster. Sowwy…**

**Oh and thanks to you kick-ass peeps who like this story! (These thanks getting redundant yet?)**

**Feast your eyes on chapter 7!**

* * *

**Chapter 7 – The Truth Is Revealed**

_ "Zelda." A smooth voice murmured somewhere close by, coaxing me from my slumber. _

_I felt the amber prison that surrounded me slowly start to fade, and my feet gradually recede to the ground. My lovely darkness where pain and guilt couldn't reach me was gone, and I was yanked back to the harshness of reality, where everything I'd done to one of the most important people in life came crashing down on me once again. _

_On my feet; I swayed, and eventually stumbled. _

_Two arms caught me, and my face fell against somebody's strong chest. This sensation felt warm; felt wonderfully familiar and right. I'd missed his warmth. That was a quality that he'd always had, that no one else could quite match; that calming warmth I always felt in his presence. For a brief moment, I forgot the terrible things I'd done to him, that expression he gave me… but only for a moment. _

_"Man, a thousand years of sleeping, and you're still tired?" That velvety voice continued, holding me tightly. "And you call me lazy." _

_Tears sprung to my eyes in an instant. Behind the playful jest, was still genuine worry. He didn't hate me?_

_How…? How can he still care about me? The horribly selfish, deceptive me?_

_I felt a finger trail down my face and tilt my chin upward. I found cobalt eyes staring straight into mine, any amusement previously present in them replaced with open concern._

_"Why are you crying?" He asked gently. _

_"Why did you…?" I choked on a sob, then swallowed thickly. "After everything I did, why did you wake me? Why didn't you just leave me there? I deserve it, after all!" I was crying really hard now, even though I had no right to. This was my mess, and I had to deal with the aftermath. _

_By now, I was sure I looked utterly repulsive, but he didn't make any effort to pull away whatsoever._

_"What an absurd question." He said, shaking his head. "I promised you I would wake you up, didn't I?"_

_"B-but I was so mean…" I started, only to have him place a silencing finger to my lips. _

_"I'll save you." He murmured, a tiny smile gracing his lips. "No matter what, I'll always come running when you need me. Never, ever forget that, Zelda."_

* * *

Slow like syrup, my eyes slid open. My vision was blurred still, so I blinked a few times to clear the haze.

That dream felt so… _real._ Like I was really there. I could still feel that boy's finger on my lips; that boy who kinda… sorta looks just an itty bit like Link.

I blushed, covering my mouth with the back of my hand.

Finally, after my face stopped burning like Death Mountain during an eruption, I took in my surroundings.

I was lying on a large, soft bed, nearly drowning in the many pillows. I sat up abruptly, realizing that I was in an unrecognizable room. As I sat up, I felt a sharp pain in my arms. Blinking, I glanced at both my arms, and found them wrapped tightly in bandages.

_The hell? _I thought, reaching over to peel back the thick fabric.

A hand snatched mine before I could tear the bandage away.

"Don't even think about it." A voice warned coolly. "You'll reopen the wounds."

My gaze followed the person's hand, up their arm, and then to their face.

"Link?" I asked dumbly, blinking at him as if he were a mirage that would disappear any second.

Link rolled his eyes. "No, it's Chester."

Irked, I attempted to cross my arms; but it hurt to move them, so I placed them back at my sides with a wince. _Um, why exactly do I like you again? _I thought irritably, resisting the strong impulse to stick my tongue out at him like a five-year-old.

"Where are we?" I asked finally.

"Mine and Dar's house." Link replied.

"You live together?" I asked, genuinely surprised. Why didn't anybody ever mention this fact? Goddesses, I feel so out of the loop...

"Yeah," He answered. "Along with our four younger siblings, and Dar's parents."

I nodded and ignored the impulse to ask more; right now, I had bigger fish to fry. "Okay, next question: Why am I here?"

Link hesitated. "How much do you remember?" He asked after a long pause.

"Well," I tapped my chin with my forefinger. "I was in the forest, drawing when…" I trailed off, the memories from last time I was awake hitting me like a bullet to the head. "Holy shit! What was that thing?"

And I meant that question too. What _was_ that monster? A zombie? A demon? The hybrid of a zombie and a demon?

Either way, it will be visiting me in my nightmares tonight.

"They're called _Dredhalde_, which means 'Dead Hand' in ancient Hylian."

"So you mean to tell me I didn't imagine that thing?" I asked, almost begging for him to admit to me that I had imagined it all. "It was real? Not my over-active imagination?"

"No. It was very real." Link answered very seriously.

I shuddered and pulled my knees to my chest, pressing my chin against the thick blanket which covered my legs. "Ugh. I think I'm going to be sick." I groaned. Then something occurred to me. "Wait. Was that was you who saved me?"

Again, Link hesitated, as if he'd said something he hadn't meant to. "Yes, that was me." He admitted finally.

"So you…?" I stopped myself. There's _no _way he'd actually said those things to me, it had probably been nothing more than a blood loss-induced hallucination. "Uh, never mind."

The awkward moment hung in the air.

"So that thing," I began, breaking the silence. "Why was it in the forest behind the school? I mean, isn't that dangerous for students?"

A tiny, amused smile curved his mouth. "It doesn't quite work that way, Zelda."

_Mmm… why do I get such extreme pleasure from hearing him say my name?_

"Well, how does it work then?" I asked, fighting my flushing face.

"…Not the way you think it does."

I groaned. "Asshole. How about a straight answer for once?"

"Not yet. Later."

"Screw you."

"You too."

"You're a jerk."

"You're nosy."

"Okay, _seriously?_" I demanded. Or at least _tried _to; it came out sort of breathless. "I was attacked by a frigging zombie demon and you _still _can't tell me what's going on?"

Link shrugged in reply.

"So it doesn't matter to you that I almost _died?"_ I asked incredulously.

His face darkened at that. "I told you we'll discuss it later, just be patient for once in your life."

I opened my mouth, but was cut off by a soft knock at the door.

Link sighed and went to open the door, leaving me to fume to myself.

"Has she woken up yet?" An unfamiliar voice drawled.

"Yeah, she just woke up a few minutes ago." Link replied to the person, who was still concealed to me by the door.

"Oh good!" The voice said, sounding relieved. "I think it's about time to change her bandages anyway."

Link only nodded and stepped aside, so that the mystery person could get into the room.

A woman stepped into the room. She was tall and sturdy, with luminescent skin and auburn hair tied into a million tiny braids. Her eyes glimmered amber – much like Darunia's, I might add – and her thick lips were pulled into a friendly grin.

"Hi sweetie," She said kindly. "I'm Link and Dar's Mum, Mrs. Kennedy, but you can call me Telma."

I fiddled with my hands awkwardly and attempted a smile; but the fact was, I was still pissed off at Link. "Hello, I'm Zelda."

Telma let out a hearty laugh. "Yes, I know." She said. "Dar and the others have told me all about you. This is the first time I've even _seen _Link today, he's been sitting up here with you since you got here."

My face went aflame and a giddy feeling bloomed in my chest like a delusional rose.

_No Zelda!_ I told myself sternly, banishing that stupid, drooling fangirl feeling to the darkest depths of my mind. _Don't get your hopes up, it means nothing!_

"Now, I hope you don't mind," Telma began, taking a tentative step toward me. "But I'd like to change the bandages on your arms."

I glanced at my bandages. They looked fine to me, but she probably knew better. "I don't mind." I told her.

"Okay." Telma smiled at me and opened the little first-aid kit I hadn't noticed she was holding. "This won't take long."

She strolled over and pulled a chair up next to the bed. I held out one of my arms and let her take it gently in her hands.

"How does it feel?" Telma asked, sliding a pair of glasses onto her face.

"It hurts when I move." I said, and as if on cue, a sharp burning sensation travelled up my shoulder and caused me to wince.

"Sorry, sweet pea." Telma apologized, letting go of my arm immediately. "This can wait if you'd like."

"No, no." I said between clenched teeth so I wouldn't wince again. "I'll have to do it eventually anyways."

Telma whistled. "You sure are a tough one, aren't you?" She asked, taking my arm again, but even gentler than last time. "Well, if you insist. Let me know if it hurts too much, okay, hon?"

I nodded as she started unravelling the thick bandage.

"So how did this happen again?" She asked, meanwhile busily trying to unravel my gauze as gently as possible.

"An encounter with a _dredhalde._" Link answered from his place at the door. "She was attacked before I got there." He spat the last sentence, as if it was poison in his mouth.

Telma clicked her tongue, her brow furrowing in concentration as she worked. "Oh, truly horrible creatures, aren't they?"

_Um, why does everyone else know about the zombie demons but me?_ Thinking back to that… _thing_ had to be bad for my health, seeing as I felt nauseous any time I did.

I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat. "Terrible." I agreed shakily.

Telma looked up from my arm and sent me a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you won't see another one of those for the rest of your life; they're extremely rare."

"I didn't even know such a thing existed." I said with a shiver.

"Well, those… _things_ don't appear naturally." Telma said vaguely.

I cocked my head in confusion, waiting for her to continue.

She didn't. Instead, she turned her head to look at Link. "Link, sweetie," She started, tilting her glasses at him. "Can you go downstairs and check on your little sisters and brothers? You know how hyper they can get when your friends are here, and last I saw, Dar and Dad were having trouble keeping them under control."

Link looked like he wanted to say something, but seemed to have thought better of it, and left, the door clacking softly as he closed it.

As soon as he was gone, Telma exhaled. "I love my boy and all, but his concerned gaze was burning holes in my back."

She finished unravelling the bandage to reveal the large gash on my arm, which I cringed away from.

"Huh?" I managed while trying to avoid looking at the cut.

Telma looked up at me and raised a sly eyebrow. "You don't know?" she asked, sounding both amazed and amused.

"Know what?" I asked slowly, squinting at her as if I could read her brain by doing so.

Telma didn't answer. Her amber gaze flitted back to her hands as she drenched a cotton pad in some sort of medical cleaner. "This will sting." She warned, holding the cotton pad over my arm. "Ready, sweetie?"

I nodded and braced myself.

I took a sharp intake of breath and whimpered as she brought the pad down on the wound. It stung like hell, but was over quickly.

"There, all done." Telma murmured, retying a new bandage around my arm.

"That one is anyway." I muttered, then looked up. "Hey, uh, what were you saying before?" I asked, attempting – and failing – to sound nonchalant. "… About knowing something?"

Telma stayed silent for a moment as she brought her chair and kit over to the other side of the bed, and busied herself with my left arm. "Well darling," She said, looking up from her work and smiling at me. "My boy Link's never really been… the social type."

I snorted before I could stop myself, then slapped my free hand over my mouth, wincing when I felt pain shudder down my arm. "Sorry, I didn't mean to—."

"Nonsense!" Telma waved it off with a grin. "It's true, isn't it? He's sometimes borderline anti-social."

"Yeah, but I—!" I began, only to be cut off again.

"No more, Zelda." Telma said firmly, and I gave up on trying apologizing. She clearly didn't think I needed to.

"Anyway, as I was saying… he doesn't warm up to people very easily," She continued. "It took Ruto, Malon, Nabu and even cute little Saria over a year for them to get him to treat them the way he does. It took both Pipit and Karane two-and-a-half _years_ for him to treat them like close friends. Even though it was different with Dar, it was only because the two grew up together. They'd been together since they were in diapers, and well, they grew to become brothers, so friendship came easy to them. But it wasn't so simple for anyone else." Telma paused, narrowing her eyes in sudden grief. "Relationships have always been difficult for him."

I was silent.

"Life… has been hard for Link." She went on, that same heavy sorrow evident in her voice. "As I'm sure you already know; he's clearly not my biological son."

"Your last names are different." I murmured I quiet agreement.

Telma nodded, seeming impressed with my simple observation. "We adopted him, much like all of our other little bundles of joy besides Dar." She began rewrapping my arm, even though I hadn't even noticed her using the disinfectant. "Aryll, Colin, Beth, and Talo were all put up for adoption as babies. We raised each of them since shortly after birth. None of them remember their biological parents, so they don't miss them. But it… it wasn't like that for Link, he lost his poor mum and dad when he was seven." She looked down, mourning.

I took in a quiet intake of breath. "But, I thought he'd been with Dar since they were babies?"

Telma nodded. "They were. Link's mum, Amana, was my best friend all through high school, college, and long afterward. My husband, Darmani, was best friends with Link's dad, Keane. They were the ones who introduced us, you know. They even made us the godparents of their only son." Telma smiled sadly. "The two of them were such a lovely couple. Amana had to be the most beautiful woman I'd ever met, both outside and in. She was very perky and happy, but was never afraid to step up when stuff needed to get done. Keane was a great man as well, very brave and caring. Good sense of humour too. And were they ever in love! Goddess, the two of them had eyes for each other, and each other only."

Telma stopped talking, biting down on her lower lip sadly. "We were devastated when we found out about the crash," She finished wrapping my arm at last. "Keane died in that crash and poor Amana fell into a coma, leaving Link all by himself."

I felt all choked up. He'd suffered so much more than a normal teenager, and yet, hasn't tried to escape it at all. Sure he was cryptic and a smart-ass, but he was easily the bravest person I'd ever met.

* * *

Telma led me all through the house. I couldn't help but notice that the house was much smaller than my own massive home; despite the fact that it also housed five more people. But it was also about a thousand times cosier.

Eventually, we got to the living room, where apparently everyone was waiting for me. And that's where Telma left me on my own.

I took a deep breath and walked through the wide archway.

Everyone's back was turned to me and seemed not to notice neither my presence, and the room was strangely quiet. Nabooru and Ruto both paced back and forth, seeming nervous and as if they couldn't calm themselves. Darunia sat in a large sofa that was faced away from us, his face turned toward the ceiling, and his fingers drumming away on the armrest. Saria lay on the other end the couch, resting her chin on her arms atop the other remaining armrest, and fiddling with her fingers. I couldn't understand why they all seemed so nervous; maybe it was because they'd finally have to tell me what was going on. Regardless, I was still confused on why they were so... _jittery_.

But the person who perplexed me the most by far was Link. He looked downright pissed off. He was sitting in a velvet armchair, his profile to us. He had his chin propped onto his hand, his elbow resting stiffly on his knee. His mind seemed to be somewhere else; drifting off to goddess-knows-where. The look on his face seemed both completely concentrated and yet, edgy and distracted. He almost resembled Auguste Rodin's _The Thinker_; except not, you know… naked. And better looking.

_Okay, whoa! Don't even go there!_ I thought, giving my head a subtle shake.

Suddenly, he snapped out of whatever trance he was under and looked in my direction. "Zelda?"

I pressed my lips together as everyone else in the room all snapped their heads around to look at me; all at a movement so fast I was surprised no one got themselves a nasty case of whiplash.

"Zellie!" Saria and Ruto cried in unison, both jumping over to see me.

I waved awkwardly, squeaking quietly when my arm stung again. "Hi." I whimpered in a pain-laced voice.

"Good Goddesses, Zellie!" Saria scolded, placing her fists on her petite hips. "The hell were you doing out there in that dark, scary forest?"

Ruto crossed her arms over her chest, staring pointedly at me. "What if Link hadn't shown up? Do you have any idea—?"

I held up a hand, cutting her off. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Scold me later. Right now, I want to know what the hell's going on!"

The anger seemed to drain completely from their expressions, replaced with that strange unease again. Saria's posture seemed to sag a little, her eyes darting between my face and Ruto's. Meanwhile next to her, Ruto bit down on her thick lower lip while absent-mindedly running a fidgety hand through her blue-black hair. I looked past them, to the others. Nabu was kicking at the carpet, also gnawing on her lip. Darunia had now stood, and was looking anywhere but at me. Link though, was looking straight at me, an intense look on his face.

I immediately felt horrible for returning the heavy anxiety to the atmosphere; but I knew it had to be done. Otherwise, I'd never know the truth.

So, ignoring the awkwardness, I cleared my throat. "Well?"

"Zelda," Saria said gently. "We…you're right. We do owe you an explanation."

Resisting the urge to say '_Ya think?'_ like an obnoxious twelve-year-old, I stared back at my green-haired friend, waiting.

She gestured to the couch behind her. "You may want to sit down for this."

My stomach constricted, an endless stream of worst-case scenarios reeling through my mind at the speed of light.

I swallowed and eventually complied, sitting down on the couch between Saria and Nabooru.

"Um, where to begin?" Saria asked, laughing nervously.

"The others?" Nabu suggested next to me.

"Right!" Ruto shot up from her spot on the couch. "I'll go get them!" She darted out of the room, and I couldn't help but feel she just wanted out.

We sat in a long, awkward silence and waited for the sound of Ruto's light footsteps to return, accompanied by two pairs of heavier ones.

To our surprise, it wasn't Ruto who burst into the room first, but my stepmother.

I stood up sharply, blinking at her as if she were some sort of illusion. "Impa?" I asked.

She pursed her thin lips but didn't say anything.

I blinked again. There was absolutely no mistaking it was her. Same tall, lithe frame. Same platinum-blonde hair contrasting against her tanned skin. Same angular face and crimson eyes I'd dubbed weird when my Dad had first introduced us. No doubt about it, the woman I'd come to see as a second mother was also involved in this fun little game of 'keep Zelda as stupid as possible for as long as possible'.

I immediately wanted it not to be true.

"What are… are you a part of this?" I asked, gesturing vaguely to the room.

"Zel, honey," Impa took a hesitant step toward me. "It's not that bad. I promise. Please, just listen to what we have to say."

"I almost died!" I snapped. "How is that not that bad?"

Impa looked shocked for a moment. "I didn't…" She murmured to herself, before anger clouded her expression. Her fiery gaze met with Link's, which he returned with just as much fury.

He stood up, still staring disdainfully at Impa, who looked completely enraged by the gesture.

"You call yourself a hero?" She spat. "Yet you were late _again?_"

From the way Link flinched, it was a safe guess that that was a below-the-belt remark for whatever reason.

"I _knew _I couldn't trust you!" Impa accused. "I still wonder if your power was given to the right person!"

In this little argument, they'd managed to make me a thousand times more confused than I was when I walked into the room, which was really saying something.

Sighing, I was about to break up the fight, when another voice beat me to it.

"Now Impa," A deep, aged voice rumbled from the doorway. "Don't forget all the Hero has done for us."

Both Impa and Link immediately dropped their glares and mumbled apologies to one another.

I turned, searching for the owner of the voice. My jaw dropped open.

"Mr. Gaebora?" I sputtered, positive that it was inhumanly possible to be any more shocked than I was right now.

Mr. Gaebora raised a hand in greeting at me. "Hello, Zelda."

"You too?" I asked, too stunned to come up with anything more intelligent to say.

He allowed himself a small smile, which was really alien behaviour for him; I'd never actually seen my history teacher laugh or smile before.

_Weird…_

Shaking off my own discomfort, I sat back down in my seat on the couch. "That's everyone, right?" I asked. "I mean, there's no one else, right?"

"No one else." Saria assured me, smiling slightly.

I exhaled. "Well then, for the love of Nayru, tell me what is going on."

There was a moment of silence. Then, one by one, everyone's expectant gaze – aside from my own, which stayed relatively blank and clueless – moved toward where Link was seated.

He sighed deeply, as if expecting this, and tugged off his left fingerless glove. He stood up and walked toward me, gaze looking slightly bothered.

When he reached me, he held out the newly exposed hand, palm downward; the back of his hand revealed. "Look familiar?"

My eyes went wide. "No way." I said for lack of anything better to say.

The back of his hand was the mirror image of my own; a birthmark in the peculiar shape of three interlocking triangles, one of which – in the bottom right corner – was a slightly darker shade of skin than the other two.

A truly terrifying thought popped into my head. "Hang on a second," I said quickly. "This doesn't mean we're, like, _related_, right?"

I could so _not _have a crush on my – _shudder_. Nope. Too weird to even think about.

That question had practically everyone smiling and or laughing, totally unaware that I was completely serious.

"No, you're not related." Impa answered, smiling despite the terrifying expression she'd been wearing mere minutes ago.

I nodded, still feeling uncomfortable. "Okay. So we have matching birthmarks. So?"

Saria jumped in. "You know the story of the Triforce, don't you?"

I stared at her. "What does that…?" I trailed off.

Suddenly, I remembered something from history class a few months ago, back when we were discussing the Triforce.

_"Moving right along," Mr. Gebora continued. "It is known that both the hero and the princess were keepers of an all-powerful force called the Triforce. Apparently, there was also the mark of the Triforce imprinted somewhere on their bodies, though no one knows where."_

_…Apparently, there was also the mark of the Triforce imprinted somewhere on their bodies, though no one knows where."_

_…the mark of the Triforce imprinted somewhere on their bodies…_

I gasped. "Wait a second!" I said. "You aren't seriously suggesting that I'm…" I stopped myself and swallowed.

It was too absurd to even think about.

Nobody said a word, and I searched each of their grim expressions for some sort of indication that this was a joke. There was none.

I stood up from the couch. "You guys are off your nut!" I stomped my foot for emphasis. "I mean, come on! Just because we both have some funky birthmark doesn't mean we are harbouring magic powers!"

"No," Saria admitted, sending an expectant look in Link's direction. "But we can prove it."

He sighed and held out a hand.

"Give me the hand with the birthmark." He instructed.

I stared at him suspiciously. "Why?" I drawled out.

He raised a brow at me, and then shook his head. "Just do it."

Reluctantly, I placed my hand to his. Almost immediately, that same flow of energy that had passed between us in the library all those months ago returned. It wasn't so much unpleasant, as it was just downright _strange_.

And then it happened.

My birthmark started to shine. No, maybe _shine_ wasn't the appropriate word for it. It glowed, shimmered… I don't know, _admitted light_.Call it whatever you want, it was still the most bizarre thing I'd ever seen.

I wrenched my hand away from his, breathing like I'd just run a mile. "What the… hell?" I sputtered, staring wide-eyed at everyone.

"Do you understand now, Zelda?" Ruto asks, standing and wrapping an arm around my shoulders, trying her very best to be gentle with fragile little me.

I pushed past her and started pacing at the front of the room, chanting quietly to myself.

"Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap!"

I received several concerned gazes.

"Is this some kind of joke?" I suddenly say, causing everyone present to jump. "Like, is there some dude with a camera waiting to jump out and tell me I've just been punked? Is that it?"

Saria looked absolutely horrified at the idea that this may be a joke. "No! Of course not! We would never do that!"

I huffed and marched over to Link, grabbing his left hand and rubbing at the birthmark there.

He stared at me questionably, as if waiting for my sanity to return to me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't waiting for that too.

"What are you doing?" Ruto asked, furrowing her brow at me.

"Trying to get the makeup off!" I grunted, but to no avail. The birthmark stayed stubbornly on his skin, taunting me.

I stared at the three interlocking triangles, for once not on my own skin.

"Wait," I said, dropping his hand. "So _you're_ the hero?" I asked dubiously, pointing at Link with a wobbly finger. "You are?"

"Yes." He replies, sounding annoyed.

"But you're so…" I trailed off, stopping myself from finishing that sentence.

_But you're so cute._ I was about to say. I'd never really given much thought to how the hero may have looked, but I certainly never thought he'd be _hot_. I guess I sort of figured he'd be really buff with a bunch of battle scars and maybe a big Viking beard.

"I'm so what?"

I look up at him, surprised that he cared. "U-um… I don't know." I mumbled. "Forget it! What really matters is that you guys really expect me to believe all those legends are about _me!"_

They all exchanged troubled looks, when finally Impa strolled over to me and gave me a firm hug.

"Sweetheart, I know it's hard to take all this in at once." She soothes, pressing my head to her shoulder comfortingly.

"This is really happening." I whispered.

"Yes."

"I'm… the princess of destiny."

"You are, my dear."

"Me?"

"Yes."

I groaned and pulled away from her. "So _I'm_ that useless princess who always got her butt kidnapped by the bad guy?"

"Zelda Genevieve Harkinian!" Impa snaps, grabbing my shoulders and giving me a good shake. "You are _not _useless by any means!"

"If you say so." I muttered. "But speaking of bad guys, I'm guessing there's one that sent the zombie demon after me?"

I felt Impa's grip tighten on my shoulders. "Yes, dear, he did."

I sighed and let her hug me again. "But what did I do?" I moaned. "I didn't do anything to him!"

"It's not so much what you did, Zelda." Mr. Gaebora says from the back of the room. "It's what you have the potential to do."

I lifted my head from my step-mother's shoulder. "What do you mean?"

Mr. Gaebora stared at me very seriously. "Between you and Link, you have the power to destroy him. It wouldn't be the first time."

I swallowed. "So he's trying to destroy us before we destroy him?" I asked, feeling sick.

Mr. Gaebora nodded. "I'm afraid so."

I squeezed my eyes shut. "Who is he? Do we know him?"

"Unfortunately." He said, narrowing his eyes. "The one who holds the Triforce of power is Principal Dragmire."

My head snapped up. "You're kidding." I groaned. "So that's why he took an immediate disliking to me!"

"And he sent that thing after you." Ruto interjected darkly.

"And he sent that thing after me." I added.

"Yes." Mr. Gaebora muttered, mostly to himself. "Zelda, I think you should learn to defend yourself."

My mouth dropped open. "You want me to go to one of those self-defense classes?" I asked.

"No, that won't be enough to keep you safe from Principal Dragmire."

I furrowed my brow. "What the heck do you want me to do then?"

My history teacher sighed. "I think you also need to learn to handle a weapon, along with some hand-to-hand combat."

"Who's gonna teach me to do that?" I asked, a queasy feeling swirling in my stomach.

"Nab can fight." Ruto piped up. "And so can Impa and Link can too."

I looked up and sighed. "Okay, who wants the chore of trying to teach me to fight?"

Impa looked down at me, frowning. "Sorry dear, I have to work. I can't teach you."

"Nab?" I asked hopefully.

Nabooru shuffled her feet and looked at me guiltily. "I could but, I'm not very good with weapons."

_Ah shit. _I thought. _You've got to be kidding me._

"Link really would be the best teacher." Saria adds brightly.

I restrained a glare in her direction, remembering that she was probably unaware of Link's immense hatred for me and my hopeless crush on him, because I'm apparently some sort of masochist.

"Well then, Link will teach you then." Mr. Gaebora decided without even consulting either of us about it.

I closed my eyes. "Alright, fine."

"In the mean time, I think you should rest up here at Mr. and Mrs Kennedy's house for the rest of the weekend." Mr. Gaebora continued. "It may not be wise to head back to school for a couple days."

I stifled a groan.

I was really beginning to think the Goddesses either really loved me or really hated me.

* * *

**He-ey peoples! I'm soooo sowwy! I mean, you waited 2 months only to be rewarded with this crappy chappy :(** **I'll (with luck) make up for it in the next chapter… maybe?**

**TalesGameSeriesLover – ehee hee! As an aspiring writer, I'm glad you got that feeling from reading my story! :)**

**PhoenixLyric – Thanks so much! I love sarcastic characters so I just_ had_ to make Zelda one! Plus, you know, lots of people portray Link as like a model citizen (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) so I wanted to do something a tad less common, I'm glad you like it! **

**MiniDoom – Alright, you can love me! XD**

**Katia0203 – yeah, writing about Dead Hand made me a bit barfy too…**

**TwilightWolf – Don't worry, they'll be getting there soon ;)**

**Neko-chan – ha ha thanks! Your review was completely freaking badass too! :3**

**CerberusWolf – Yeah, sarcasm ****_is _****pretty boss! And who else would be Zellie's savoir but the Groosinator? :D**

**And thanks to you guests for the reviews ****too****! It really touches my heart :)**

**Well… that's all folks!**

**Review if you're in the mood to be awesome! **


	8. Winged Smurfs and Short-Shorts

**Ugh! It's been exams, ISUs, and studying lately! Booo! That shit's so boring… why can't I worry about the future ****_in _****the future?**

**…Okay, personal rant aside, say hello to my little friend: Chapter 8!**

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Winged Smurfs and Short-Shorts **

"So let me get this straight," I said, tapping my chin. "_I _am the leader of the sages, yes?"

I sat in the living room with Saria, the TV blaring some reality show neither one of use were paying any attention to. Link and Dar were outside practicing fencing, while Ruto and Nabooru were in the kitchen, picking out snacks. Mr. Gaebora and Impa had left a while ago.

Saria, who had been trying to explain this to me for roughly twenty minutes, sighed. "Yes. You are the leader of the sages."

"Okay." I nodded. "Got that. And you guys are all sages, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"So I'm _your_ leader?"

"Technically." Saria sighed again.

"Alright," I paused. "Why do you need a leader?"

"Well… I don't really know, Zel. We just do, apparently."

"Okay. But, why can't you just do it on your own?"

"I already told you," Saria says. "Our sealing power only works as a whole. It wouldn't work on our own. We need one another."

I nodded curtly. "And I'm okay with that, but _why_ do we need to be together?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, I guess in case any of us turn on the rest."

I cocked my head. "If there was any doubt that you'd abuse your power, why would the Goddesses choose you in the first place?"

Saria sighs deeply, exasperated. "I don't know! It's just the way things are, okay? Must you question everything?"

"Yes." I confirmed, winning a slight smile from her.

"So you understand now?" She asked me slowly.

I nodded again. "Yuppers. Uh, except…"

Saria groaned, pressing her face into the crook of her arm and falling against the couch armrest.

I narrowed my eyes and ignored her reaction. "Why didn't my parents tell me?"

She looked up, sympathy in her eyes. "I don't know, Zel."

I frowned, a bit sadly. "But, I mean, all your parents were messaged by the Goddesses and you were raised knowing all this. Why wasn't I?"

Saria frowned as well. "Maybe your parents wanted to protect you? You know, kind of like…" She stopped abruptly, and then cleared her throat. "Yeah, um, or they might not know. Maybe something happened that prevented them from finding out? I wish I knew, Zellie, but I have no clue."

I nodded, accepting the lack of an explanation, and then promptly furrowed my brow in confusion. "Wait. What were you about to say?"

"It's nothing important." She assures me, turning back to the TV screen.

"Yeah," I admitted, slowly nodding. "But I'm curious."

Saria waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Zell Bell."

I slumped in my seat, defeated.

"Dude!" I heard someone say, as Nabu placed a big tray of cookies on the coffee table in front of me. "You seriously gotta try these things, it's like eating sunshine!"

I laughed, reaching for the tray. "Interesting analogy, Nabu."

She grins at me and plops down on the couch next to Saria, who was also reaching for a cookie. "I try."

I bit into the cookie and chewed thoughtfully, before cramming the rest of it into my mouth. "Holy crap." I said once I was finished eating. "Those are amazing."

"Telma's secret recipe." Nabooru says, reaching for her own cookie.

I stared at the tray. "Do you think I could bribe it off her?"

"Nope." Another voice said from behind me. I turned around to find Ruto walking over holding a large plastic bowl.

"And why not?" I asked.

She grins at me. "Because I've already tried to."

I pouted as she walks around me and places the bowl on the table. I peer into it and groan at the contents.

"Amazing cookies and Doritos?" I asked. "Okay, I'm convinced. There's a conspiracy to make me the size of the moon, isn't there?"

Ruto sits down next to Nabu and snaps her fingers. "Curses! She's onto us!"

I laughed and reached for a chip. "Where did you find all this anyways? Does Telma really have this much food to spare?"

Ruto raised a brow at me. "Zel, they're rich with _six_ kids. Of course they have plenty of food."

Nodding, I heard two pairs of light footsteps scurry down the hall. Seconds later, two little girls peered over the backrest of the couch.

One was clearly younger, probably about six or seven, with wide blue eyes and sunny-coloured hair tied back into curly pigtails. The other looked to be about eight or nine; with short orange hair, freckles, and large green eyes.

The one with the pigtails stared at me. "You're Zelda." It wasn't a question.

"I …am." I said slowly, unsure of what else to say.

"Are you Link's girlfriend?" The orange-haired girl asked, cocking her head.

I heard Saria, Ruto and Nabooru snicker; which meant they weren't going to rescue me.

"N-no!" I denied quickly, blushing. "Why would you think that?"

The orange-haired girl shrugged. "He was the one who carried you here." She glanced around and cupped her mouth, as if to tell a secret. "I think he likes you."

I flushed a deeper shade of red. "O-oh, no. I…he doesn't like me like that." _Or in any way._

"Do you like him?" The girl with pigtails asked.

I cringed. Could I really blatantly lie to two little girls?

"Beth. Aryll." Telma's voice says from the direction of the door. "Don't interrogate our guest, babies. It's not polite. Come and help me set the table, we have lots of guests to serve"

I exhaled in relief.

"But Momma, I wanna talk some more to Zelda!" The orange-haired girl whined.

"Beth." Came Telma's warning tone. "I don't want to have to repeat myself."

Beth frowned in the direction of the doorway, and then looked back to me. "Don't worry, we won't tell him." She promised before skipping out into the hallway, Aryll scampering after her.

I stared after the two little girls, my mouth agape. _I couldn't even convince two elementary-school children that I didn't like him! Great. Just fabulous. I'm actually that obvious!_

My friends continued to snicker, and I shot each of them daggers, but it still didn't shut them up.

With an exasperated sigh, I snatched a chip from the bowl and shoved it in my mouth. "Shut up."

* * *

"Zelda, what do you like to do?" Aryll asked at the dinner table.

I looked up from my roast beef.

"Aryll honey," Telma says. "Don't put Zelda on the spot."

"It's okay." I assured her, then turned to the little girl with pigtails. "I like to draw."

Aryll perked up, excited. "Could you draw me?"

I nodded. "If I had the right tools, sure." I sent her a smile, which she returned with a wide, toothy grin.

"Could you draw me a monster truck?" One of the little boys, who I'd learned was Talo, exclaimed at the end of the table.

I smiled at the little boy. "Sure thing. I could even draw you a monster _driving_ a monster truck."

Talo's eyes went big. "Wow!" He said, shooting a glance toward his older brothers. "Link, your girlfriend is cool!"

Out of shock, I bit down unnecessarily hard on my fork, a small _clack _erupting from my teeth.

"She isn't my girlfriend, Talo." Link says, not looking up from his plate.

No "_she's just a friend",_ no "_we're only friends",_ just "_she's not my girlfriend"_. That was it. End of story.

I felt my face fall.

"She's only a friend." Darunia throws in for my benefit.

"Like Malon?" Beth asks, smiling knowingly despite her young age. "That kind of 'friend'?"

Darunia looked about as red as I felt.

"Enough, Beth." Darmani, her father, says from the other end of the table, shooting the little girl a warning look.

Beth shrugged and went back to eating as if nothing had happened.

Telma cleared her throat. "So, Saria." She said, turning her attention to the petite, green-haired girl. "How are the grades?"

Saria shrugged. "Not bad. I wish I could do better."

Nabooru snorted and I allowed myself a small smile.

"So, what? Skipping a grade with straight A's not good enough for ya'?" She asked, raising a fiery brow.

Saria stuck out her tongue at her friend. "You hush up!"

From there, an animated conversation began. I answered all the questions I was asked with a smile plastered on my face; a smile I was fully aware didn't reach my eyes. Then dinner was over, and everyone went back to school, aside from Nabu and I. She had to stay back and make sure I didn't get myself killed while Link was out doing the library work. Since he was the best fighter, once he finished the two hours of labour, he'd come back and fill in for Nabu for the rest of the night; because I apparently need constant babysitting. Ruto filled in for me in the library, despite my many protests, and told me to "rest up" and "just relax".

Like that was at all possible.

Now I sat on the bay window in the guest room with it cracked open, enjoying the cool night air. The TV buzzed in the background, though I paid it no attention. My mind was elsewhere, thinking – strangely enough – about the mystery girl that I was yet to be introduced to. Nabooru sat in front of the TV, casting glances in my direction every once in a while, as if to check that I hadn't spontaneously combusted or whatever they think will happen to me if I'm left alone.

"Nab?" I asked, turning my attention to her.

"Yeah?"

I took a deep breath. "I know about the girl." I blurted, the words just tumbling out of my mouth without my permission.

She cocks her head. "Huh?"

I pulled my knees up to my chest. "I… I know there's a girl who you guys are trying to protect. A friend of yours."

I watch as her eyes go wide and she curses. And I wait for an answer.

Nab looks over at me almost guiltily. "Oh. Yeah. Her." She cringes a bit. "I'm sorry, Zel. I… can't really tell ya about her."

I huffed. "I thought there would be no more secrets!"

She chewed on her lip, seemingly weighing her options. "… It doesn't really have anything to do with the Triforce."

"Bull!" I accused. "I've overheard things! She's got a part in all this too!"

Nabooru stood from her chair with an uneasy sigh. She walked over to the bed and plopped down, patting the seat next her for me. I obliged, standing from my seat at the window, and throwing myself onto the cushy mattress.

"Look Z, I'm not really sure what'cha heard, but it isn't my secret to tell. Trust me, if it was, I'd have told ya long ago."

I closed my eyes and sighed hopelessly. "Then whose secret is it?"

Nabu opened her mouth, but stopped short when there was a knock on the door. Looking almost relieved, she shot up from her spot on the edge of my bed and pulled open the door.

Link stood in the doorway, wearing his trademark blasé expression.

"You're back!" Nabooru exclaimed, sounding a hell of a lot more excited than I felt.

He merely nodded, then looked past her to me. He lifted his hand to reveal a brown shopping bag dangling from the crook of his fingers.

"Go on a little shopping spree?" I asked, earning myself one of those breathtaking smirks of his.

"No. It's some clothes from Malon."

It was only at that moment that I realized I had nothing to wear for to tonight or tomorrow. I slipped off the bed and took the bag gratefully.

"Well, I'll be going." Nabooru said, brushing past Link and out the door.

He was about to leave too, but without thinking, I called, "Wait!"

He did, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning against the doorframe.

"Uh…" I curled my fingers tighter around my newly obtained shopping bag. "You were supposed to train me." I winced slightly when the words came out sounding accusatory.

"Not today, you're hurt."

"But I need as much time to train as possible, so we shouldn't procrastinate." I insisted.

He shook his head, some of his tawny hair to falling into his eyes. "Idiot. I'm not going to teach you how to handle a weapon while you're injured."

"But—!" I started to protest.

He held up a hand to silence me. "It doesn't matter even if you _could _convince me to teach you today – and we both know you can't – it's way too late."

"Well, tomorrow then?" I asked; I was beyond tired of him saving my sorry ass all the time, and wanted to learn how to take care of myself as soon as possible.

He shook his head again. "Nope. Do you honestly think you'll heal that fast?" He scoffed.

My eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Well, how long until I can learn to defend myself? I mean, I think it's pretty obvious everyone agrees I'm in a considerable amount of danger."

"What good will the training do if you're in pain? If anything, it'll make the wounds worse."

I opened my mouth, and then shut it. Reluctantly, I nodded, admitting defeat.

It was times like this that made me wonder if my crush were more than just blind physical attraction, because in his own weird little way, Link _could _be nice.

"Good night," I muttered, staring at my feet in a feeble attempt to hide my blushing face.

I thought I heard him grunt a gruff _'night_, but it was so low I couldn't be sure.

I shut the door, and then threw the shopping bag onto the bed. I sank down onto the mattress next it, and began rummaging through its contents.

The first thing I pulled out was my cell phone, which had about ten messages from Malon, three from Karane, and one from Pipit. I guessed by now they all probably knew I was alright, so I left them be.

The next things I pulled from the bag were my toothbrush, hairbrush and other toiletries. I then find a pair of jeans, my deliciously-soft purple cashmere sweater Impa had bought me on my last birthday, and—thank the Goddesses!—some underwear. As uncomfortable as I was with the fact that someone besides myself had been in my underwear drawer, I was glad I had all this stuff. Next I found my towel and other shower stuff, and finally I found what I'd been looking for: my pyjamas. I pulled out a pair of shorts and a ribbed tank top from the bag.

I held the shorts up against myself. They brought new meaning to the term 'short-shorts' and had _Sexy!_ written across the butt. They most certainly weren't mine.

_Leave it to Malon._ I thought to myself while rolling my eyes.

I grabbed my phone and decided I'd send her an angry text for totally screwing me over.

**_WTF Mal?_** I typed. **_Sexy? Really?_**I pressed send and tossed the phone next to me.

A moment later, my phone beeped.

**_Perfect for a sleepover, no?_** Malon had typed back.

My face immediately turned red. **_They arent even mine!_**

**_Dont worry. U can keep them. ;)_**

I gasp after reading this. I also wonder which flowers I'll bring to her funeral, because she was so dead.

**_Wat the hell do you expect me to do with him?_** I typed furiously, nearly breaking my thumbnail in the process.

Another moment passes before my phone beeps again.

**_:D_**

_Tulips are nice. _I decide. _I think __I'll bring tulips to her funeral. _

* * *

My eyes fluttered open. I sat up in bed and rubbed my bleary eyes until they cleared.

_What a delightfully dreamless sleep._ I thought contently. _No awkward romantic moments with the Link look-a-like. It was beautifully blank. _

I shivered suddenly, due to the fact that I'd forgotten to close the window last night.

I shook my head to clear it and glared at the sun streaming through the open window, as it seemed obnoxiously aimed right into my vision. My stomach gurgled loudly. I was starving.

Kicking off the covers, I realized I had another predicament: Malon's _Sexy! _shorts.

"Thanks Mal." I grumbled, clutching my gurgling stomach. "Thanks a bunch."

I slid off the bed and walked over to the mirror that was stuck to the back of the door, ripped my ponytail out and began combing through my hair with my fingers.

_Goddess,_ I thought, frowning at my reflection. _They really are short. _

Self-consciously, I tugged down at the pant-legs in a vain attempt to cover some more leg. Not surprisingly, it didn't work.

There was a sudden knock on the door, which made me jump so much I had to clutch a nearby dresser in order not to lose my balance.

"C-come in." I said without thinking.

The door opened a crack, Aryll and Beth's heads peeking in. Once they spotted me, they threw open the door and charged toward me, both of them grabbing a hand of mine.

"Breakfast is ready!" Beth said cheerfully.

Aw crap. Now I have to go downstairs wearing these stupid shorts. Malon better start writing her will.

"Mommy made eggs and pancakes and toast and bacon and muffins!" Aryll counted off enthusiastically. "Oh, and she made waffles too!"

"Mommy's waffles are real yummy! And she makes her own waffle-batter-stuff too!" Beth added.

The little girls continued to talk my ears off about our apparently amazing breakfast—which I had no doubt in my mind was pretty awesome, considering how great a cook Telma was—until we reached the kitchen.

The kitchen table was full of heaping plates of muffins, pancakes, bacon, toast and any breakfast enthusiast's dream. I gaped at the table.

Beth and Aryll weren't kidding.

Telma, who was leaning against the counter in her fuzzy robe and bunny slippers meanwhile enjoying a cup of coffee, grinned when she saw me.

"Morning Sweetie," She says, sweeping her arm over the full table. "Take anything your little heart desires."

I stared wide-eyed at the table. "Anything?"

"Anything." She repeats with a wink.

I was pretty sure Beth had shared her hypothesis about me with her mother. Good.

Blushing, I took a seat at the table and busied myself with piling food on my plate.

"How'd you sleep, Doll?" Telma asked, sitting across from me.

I looked up and shrugged. "Fine, thank you."

She nodded and took a sip of coffee. "That's good. Impa would have my hide if you were anywhere near uncomfortable."

I laughed. "Well, rest assured, you can keep your hide for the time being."

She grinned and picked up four plates for each of her kids, then proceeded to put food evenly on each one. Once that was done, all of the kids filed out of the kitchen, probably off to watch morning cartoons.

I looked back to my own plate, plopped a waffle on it, smothered it in syrup, and practically fell upon it like a wild animal.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." Telma chimed to someone I couldn't see, though I had a pretty good idea who it was. "'Bout time you rolled out of bed, my boy."

I heard a gruff grunt, and the sound of a chair scraping against the floor.

I stared at my plate like it was the most captivating thing on the planet.

But I couldn't help but wonder; what _does _he wear to bed? Footie pyjamas? The classic flannel? Boxers…?

_No!_ I scolded my own over-active mind._ Bad girl! Bad! Don't think about those things! No!_

"How about you, Link?" Telma asked absentmindedly. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine." He murmured, still sounding half-asleep.

Without looking up, I reached across the table to the bowl in front of me, which I was pretty sure held strawberries. I pinched the fruit by the leaf, and pulled it back gingerly, only to have it snagged by someone else.

"Hey!" My head snapped up in the direction of the offender.

My jaw dropped.

There, hovering before my eyes, was a tiny winged creature emitting a blue, otherworldly light. It looked like somebody left a smurf in the dryer for too long, pasted a pair of wings and a blue glow stick to it's body, then set its freakish creation free.

I stared at the creature for a second, then decided to squeak something that sounded like "What the duck?!", and jumped back from my seat.

"_Hmph!_ Rude princess!" The winged smurf scoffs, making off with my strawberry.

I stared in awed horror as the tiny blue light fluttered across the table to where Link was, and perch itself atop his head.

"U-um, Link?" I asked, staring wide-eyed at the little blue thing sitting in his hair. "What is that thing?"

Telma lowered her mug from her lips, and sent her son a look. "You didn't tell her?"

He didn't answer, but instead stared at me with an amused expression. The blue thing, however, wasn't amused and let out what sounded like a cry of anger, before flying right into my face.

Up close, I realized that it was more like a tiny human with small, gossamer wings, and pastel-blue anime hair than a shrunken smurf.

"That 'thing' happens to be a she!" It said angrily, placing its hands on its tiny hips. "And _she's_ not going to sit there and swallow your crap, you prissy little princess!"

I scowled at her. "Listen Tinkerbelle; don't get your itty panties in a twist. It was a legitimate question."

Tinkerbelle made the cutesiest growl I'd ever heard before crossing her arms angrily. "First of all, my name is not 'Tinkerbelle', its Navi! And second of all, it was the _dumbest_ question that's ever left your mouth!" She turned her back on me, and threw over her shoulder, "Wisdom, my ass!"

I stared after Navi as she glided back atop Link's head.

"Navi," He sighed, scooping her up in his hand and placing her on the table. "How many times have I told you not to eat on my head?"

I blinked.

Really? So this was an everyday occurrence? Alrighty then.

"Come on!" Navi whined. "I'm not a messy eater!"

Telma, seeing that no one else seemed to feel obligated to tell me what was going on, turned her attention to me with a sigh. "That's Navi, dear. She's Link's fairy partner."

"Fairy…partner?" I echoed. "Wha…?"

She chuckled. "I know, it must sound strange."

I blinked, and then rubbed my eyes. "Fairy partner?" I repeated again, dubiously this time.

She nodded. "Yes, sweet. You heard me right."

I dropped my gaze to the table and shook my head. "Wow. Do werewolves exist too? I hear they're pretty ripped."

Telma burst out laughing, along with Navi, as Link only hid his smile behind his hand.

I blinked. Sheesh, it wasn't _that_ funny_. _

"You'd be surprised what exists in our world, darling." Telma says, still chuckling slightly.

I got the feeling there was some inside joke I was missing here.

I huffed, a little indignantly. "Well _sorry_ for being just as ignorant as the majority of the world."

Telma patted my hand. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll figure out the rest of the world's secrets soon enough."

I wasn't sure if I really liked the sound of that.

* * *

Breakfast came and went; all the while I spent staring at the little winged pixie, Navi —who'd snapped at me several times to stop doing exactly that— utterly bewildered by her very existence.

After the novelty of a fairy wore off, I retreated to my room to get changed—as I _was_ still wearing Malon's stupid shorts.

I stood in the middle of the room, trying to remember where I had put my bag of clothes when I heard a light scratching noise.

I froze and swallowed thickly. The last time I'd heard weird noises, I was attacked.

"Hello?" I called cautiously, and then immediately regretted it.

If it was another monster, did I honestly think it would just step out of it's hiding place and be all like; "_Here I am! Go on, call your annoyingly hot hero to come and kill me! Go for it, I'll wait."_ If anything, all I was doing was telling it where it can come and eat me.

The scratching noise persisted and my breath caught in my throat.

It was coming from under the bed. Under _my_ bed. I took a deep breath.

_It's fine. _I thought. _Everything's fine. If it can fit under a bed, then it's probably not very big or threatening… right? _

With a moment of bravery, I got on my knees and gingerly lifted the bed skirt.

A pair of glowing red eyes illuminated the darkness of the underside of the bed.

With the grace of a walrus on rollerblades, I tumbled backwards into one of the nightstands. The lamp that sat on the nightstand teetered, and then plunged to the ground, shattering and startling me to a shriek.

The door flew open, and crashed against the wall with a sharp _BANG!_

Link stood in the doorway, tense and alert. He clutched the same sword he'd used against Drake all those months ago.

"Zelda, are you alright? What is it?"

"Under the bed…" I whimpered, shoving myself to my feet and wincing when I felt a piece of the lamp bite into my palm.

Swiftly, he knelt on the ground – with way more grace than I probably had – and lifted the bed skirt. He squinted into the darkness for a moment, then cursed. He turned his gaze to me grimly.

"You may want to leave. It's a keese. They can get hostile if startled."

I didn't even have time to react to that; as the keese flew out from under the bed, screeching for all it was worth.

In one fluent movement, Link hit the creature with the blunt of his sword, sending it sailing out the open window. He then walked over to the window, and yanked it shut.

I stared at him wide-eyed. _Holy mother Farore, did he just kill that innocent creature?_

"It's not dead," He says as if he'd read my mind. "Look."

I cautiously walked from where I was standing to the window, and pressed my hand against the glass. The bat-like creature was retreating into the nearby forest, looking a little dizzy and out of it, but certainly alive.

It was at that moment I realized how close he was standing to me; his chest just nearly brushing my back. Not only that, I was wearing these ridiculous shorts, courtesy of my dear friend Malon.

Immediately, my face flushed madly.

I didn't dare step away, for fear that I would bump into him, and so I stayed put; pretending to be mesmerized by the outside scenery.

"What happened?" Link asked, grabbing hold of the hand I had pressed against the window.

"Huh?" I responded, blinking.

"This." He says, turning my hand around to reveal a rather large gash across my palm, blood pulsating from the wound.

"Oh," I said, furrowing my brow and wondering how I'd forgotten about that. "I guess I cut myself on the broken lamp."

Link drops my hand and looks around for something.

"What are you—?" I began, only to be cut off.

"I'm looking for something to stop the bleeding."

I close my mouth and nod.

Sounding annoyed, he runs a hand through his hair. "Wait here, I'll…" He trails off, eyes darting to my hand again.

I feel a drop of blood oozing down my hand and onto the floor. "Sorry!" I say, cupping the injured hand so that it doesn't drip onto the hardwood again.

Without another word, he slips off his t-shirt and tosses it to me. "Here, use this for now."

My mouth fell open and I struggled not to look away.

It wasn't that he looked bad without a shirt; not with his flat, washboard abs and lean, wiry-muscled arms… er, let's just say platonic acquaintances really are much better when fully clothed.

This was just too much; I was actually starting to feel light-headed.

"W-what the heck am I supposed to do with this?" I stammered, wishing my head would just go ahead and fall off.

Link shakes his head like I'm missing something obvious. "To stop the blood?"

"Ha ha. Right." I say nervously, pressing the shirt against the wound.

"Just keep pressure on it, I'll go get Telma."

He leaves, shutting the door softly behind him. I collapse backwards onto the bed.

"Oh hell." I muttered to myself.

* * *

**Ha ha, the whole taking-off-the-shirt-to-stop-blood-flow thing is such a hot guy cliché XD oh well… there's a reason everyone uses clichés, and goddess dammit it's because they're awesome!**

**Comments tiiiiiiiiiiime!**

**Someone – Yeah, I was going to lean Zelda more in the direction of archery. Glad you agree! :)**

**OzzieLiber-Tea – THANK YOU FOR THINKING MY SHIT WAS AWESOME! I'm sure yours is just as friggin epic! :D**

**PhoenixLyric – Hehe, I was quite fond of the term 'drooling fangirl feelings' as well! Oh and just you wait, the amount of sarcasm about to unfold will be unheard of! **

**LauParisi – I'm glad that you're glad that I reviewed your story! And I'm glad I found your story! I'm also glad you noticed that I try to keep the story connected with the games. Nobody's really commented on that, so thanks... what I'm trying to say is I'm just a very thankful person. XD **

**Twi-Hoster Girl – Here's you're other chapter lol! More Zelink coming your way soon!**

**Cerberuswolf – Lol replying to all the reviews is the least I can do since all you kick-ass people took time out of your kick-ass lives to comment on my story :3 By the way…**

**… Groosinator!**

**Katia0203 – thanks! I thought it would've been kinda weird if Zelda would just be all like "What? You say I'm the girl from all those stories everyone knows? Huh. Seems legit." Glad you agree :)**

**PrincessZelda450 – Thank you! You're pretty darn amazing yourself! :)**

**ArianandXaia – Haha! I was laughing a bit when I came up with that line too! XD I'm glad you like my antisocial Link and my cynical Zelda!**

**TalesGameSeriesLover – Oh. My. Great. Goddesses. That's such a cute name for Link! ^.^ (You're speaking with a raging fangirl here) lmao, I love how you said 'when' they're getting together, not 'if'. XD (heh, all my couples are pretty obvious, I know :3)**

**Thanks to all the people who reviewed, added to favorites and followed this story! Congratulations! You all get metaphorical cookies!**

**… and you know, if you, you know, liked this chapter, you could – and totally _n_****_ot _****saying you have to – leave a review, you know? **


	9. Return to Hylia

**Whoa guys, I gotta say, the reactions to the last chapter were unbelievable! Makes me a little *sniffle hic* teary… :') **

***cough* sorry… it's time for the chapter 9 now…**

**Chapter 9 – Return to Hylia**

* * *

"I'm really sorry about the lamp." I said grimly.

Telma looks up from cleaning my palm. "Now Zelda, I already told you it was alright." She lowers her voice. "It was a cheap lamp anyway, and you've provided me with an excuse to replace it."

I was currently sitting on the bed of the Kennedy's guest room, after having been saved by Link and bandaged by Telma, once again.

My smile was brittle. "I know, but I still feel bad…"

"That's quite enough, dearie!" Telma snapped. "I don't want to hear you apologize for that thing again!"

I blinked. "Er, yes ma'am…?"

Telma nodded curtly, and stuck one of those mondo-sized bandages onto my palm.

"Mummy?" A small voice said from the door.

I looked past Telma to see Aryll accompanied by Beth, Talo and Colin—who has yet to speak in my presence.

"Mummy what happened?" The little blond girl asked, staring at the broken lamp that lay scattered on the ground.

"Just a little accident, Sweetie." Telma said, flashing her children a reassuring smile. "Stay away from the broken pieces, please."

"Or you'll end up like me." I added, holding up my bandaged hand. "And that would be bad, wouldn't it?"

The four children exchanged wide-eyed glances.

"Lamps are dangerous." Beth observed.

Her four siblings nodded in quiet agreement. I restrained a giggle.

Goddesses, they were too cute.

"Guys, Spongebob's back on!" Link called from downstairs.

The kids hesitated.

"Go ahead, Zelda's fine." Telma told them.

That was the convincing the four of them needed, and they all sped back into the hallway.

"Now sweet pea, there's more important things we have to address." Telma said, turning back to me and placing my hand back onto my lap.

"Like what?" I asked, scratching my head with my good hand.

"Well, like what you're going to tell Malon and the others."

I hadn't thought of that. What _did_ I plan to tell them, that I was attacked by a zombie demon in the forest behind the school? Yeah… not such a good idea; I'd be thrown in the loony bin faster than you could say "Commit me".

I shrugged. "I'm not very creative." I admitted sheepishly.

"Hmmm…" Telma pursed her lips, then turned to the open doorway. "Link, sweetie? Come here!"

Within seconds, Link was at the door. And thank the goddesses; he had retrieved a new shirt.

Shirt=Safe

"Hmm?" He drawled, leaning against the doorframe in a very model-esque pose that was doing wonders for his chest and arms. I mean, damn, who decided it was fair to allow a jackass to look like—

"What do you plan to tell Malon, Karane and Pipit about Zelda's injuries?" Telma asked, snapping me back to reality.

He rubs the back of his neck, and lets out a deep sigh. "When Malon asked me last night, I told her she tripped while hiking and rolled down a hill." His cerulean graze met mine, and a slow smirk playing on his lips. "Malon believed it no problem."

I scowled at him over Telma's shoulder. _I'm only clumsy around you, asshole!_

Realizing this wasn't a very good comeback, I settled for simply glowering at him with all my might.

"Huh," Telma murmured, turning back to me. "Not the _best_ explanation, but I couldn't say I could do any better."

"Oh!" She suddenly exclaimed, turning back to Link again. "Are you planning on taking the Mercedes back to school?"

He shrugs. "Yeah, I guess."

Barely a moment passed before something flew right into my face, causing me to wrench my head backward in surprise and slam it against the headboard of the bed.

"Ow!" I cried, clutching the back of my head.

"Good!" The tinkling voice of Navi snapped harshly, as she reached over and gave my nose a little smack.

I glared at the pixie disdainfully. It wasn't so much that the smack hurt, but damn, was I ever pissed that she'd done it in the first place.

_How would you like it if I smacked you?_ I thought.

But then again, if I smacked her, I'd probably end up crushing her into fairy dust.

_A small sacrifice for peace…_ I thought, softly smirking to myself.

"You should stop getting yourself into these dumb situations!" Navi cried, crossing her tiny arms and fixing me with an impressive glare. "Link shouldn't have to baby-sit you so much, you clumsy moron!"

My smirk dissolved, promptly replaced with a glare. Was Tinkerbelle unaware that I could so easily squash her?

"Navi!" Telma said sharply, shutting up the big-mouthed fairy, who scoffed and glided atop Link's head once again.

Telma turned to me, an apology in her eyes. "Sorry, hon. Navi can get… passionate about some things. Please don't take it personally."

"Please _do!_" Navi yelled from her perch.

"Anywho," Telma stood from the bed, sending the fairy a look of warning. "You better get packing, or you'll be stuck driving during rush hour."

"Ah, before I forget!" She suddenly exclaimed, turning to her son. "The hospital left a message yesterday. Amana's still showing signs of normal brain activity." She smiled sadly, and gave a small, hopeless shrug. "Same old, same old."

Link nodded once, eyes narrowing ever-so-slightly in what looked to be disappointment.

We were all silent for a few moments, before I broke the silence.

"Um," I said, slipping off the bed and trying not to let the awkwardness get to me. "When will we leave?"

It was a dumb question, seeing as Telma had pretty much already answered that, but the question seemed to melt some of the heavy atmosphere.

"Ten minutes. Get packing or I'm leaving without you." Link said before he ducked into the hallway, and out of sight.

* * *

"Hey, Zelda. Wake up."

I woke with a start and rubbed my eyes lazily.

That's right; I had fallen asleep in the car ride. The black-leather interior wasn't terribly comfortable, but after the morning I had, just about anything felt like sleeping on a cloud. And fortunately, Navi doesn't like the evil aura surrounding Hylia Academy, so we were also blessed with her absence.

"What?" I groaned.

Link stood next to my open car door, eyeing me irritably. "We're here."

"Then you go on ahead." I muttered, curling into a ball on the seat. "I'll stay here a bit longer."

He rolled his eyes. "Didn't I say I wasn't leaving you alone? That includes alone in an empty parking lot."

I muttered some intelligible words, and decided to ignore him.

"Zelda. Up."

_I'm ignoring you!_ I thought, squeezing my eyes shut stubbornly. _Take the hint!_

I felt him reach over my body to undo my seatbelt, his hand brushing my waist lightly. My eyes shot open in a millisecond.

"What are you—!?" The words died on my lips when I noticed our close proximity; mere inches from each other.

He smirked, moving out of my personal bubble. "Knew that'd wake you."

Right on cue, the blush in my cheeks flared up like a wild fire.

"You… irritate… me." I tell him pointedly, poking him squarely in the chest and trying my best not to succumb to my embarrassment.

He grinned. And I do mean full-out _grinned_, not the usual cocky smirk I'd grown accustomed to, but an actual amused smile. And damn, if it wasn't the type of smile to make a girl melt into a puddle, I wasn't sure what was.

"I'll work on that." Link said, the grin already fading. "Now get up."

I crossed my arms and decided to oblige. This time.

Once out of the warmth of the Kennedy's Mercedes, I shivered from the wind chill, wishing I'd worn more than a hoodie over my clothes. I looked around the campus. It seemed to be mostly deserted, save for a few stray students walking back and forth to their dorms.

Link grabbed my bag from the back seat and shut the door firmly, clicking the car remote to lock it.

I hold out my hand, expecting him to hand me my bag; but he only walks off in the direction of the dorms with it.

I stand there a moment, confused with my hand still extended.

"Wait!" I call after him, jogging to keep up. "Give me my bag, idiot!"

He smirks at me over his shoulder. "I'm carrying it for you."

I blink, stare, and blink again. Then I cross my arms, ignoring the slight pain that climbs up my arms from doing so, and glare.

"Okay, ha ha. Very funny." I try to snatch the paper bag from him, but he easily dodges my attempt. "Seriously, knock it off. I said wanted my stuff back!"

"And I said I was going to carry it for you."

"That's really not necessary." I point out.

He stops walking –as do I– and turns around to face me with a brow raised. "If I don't, you may find yourself in a full-body cast. I wouldn't put it past you."

My glare hardens. "Ass."

Link ignores my comment, and proceeds to start walking again.

Because of his long-legged stride, I have to practically sprint to fall back into step with him.

"Farore, why must you always be this?" I raged to no one in particular.

"I'm _not_ always like this. I only am with you." He says simply.

"Well gee, don't I feel special?" I said sarcastically—though it fell flat. Sarcasm is difficult to keep up when you're huffing as if you're running a marathon.

"You should," Another voice calls from behind us.

Both Link and I stopped dead in our tracks.

The voice was eerily familiar. It sent shivers racing up my spine. Before I even had to turn around, I knew exactly who it belonged to.

Drake and Sabrina –away from their cronies for once— melted from the shadows of one of the dorms. Drake glided up next to me; his hands stuffed in his pockets, his frightening crimson gaze and predatory smirk directed right at me.

"You are the 'precious little princess', after all." He finished, shaking his dark hair from his eyes, the smirk growing into a grin.

I stared, my eyes wide as saucers. _They know?_

Sabrina waltzed up next to him; one hand resting on her perfect hip, the other clamped over her blood-red lips as an obnoxious giggle bubbled out of her mouth.

I glared at them.

I wasn't sure what these two wanted from us, but they clearly know far more than they had previously been leading on. And it was more than obvious that they weren't on our side.

I tried to take a step forward, only to be tugged backward by my hood. I stumbled into Link, who promptly locked me in place by grabbing hold of both my shoulders in his vice-like grip.

"Link!" I hissed, trying to wiggle free of his grasp. He wouldn't budge, but instead stared daggers at Drake. I could almost feel all the muscles in his body tense and coil frigidly under the skin.

Drake cocked his head, evidently entertained by the gesture.

Sabrina snickered into her hand again, her crimson eyes dancing with amusement.

I knit my brow, not quite getting the joke.

Sabrina giggled once more, and turned her intimidating gaze to me. "It's, um… Helga, right?" She asked innocently as I grit my teeth.

"Who cares? She's probably just another replacement," Drake said with a snicker. "How selfish are we, dear Hero?" He sang.

I felt Link's grip on my shoulder tighten.

"Replacement?" I echoed without thinking, then quickly regretted the impulsive action.

"Why yes, _princess,"_ Drake said, twisting the last word in his mouth like it was something disgusting. "You see; there were many others before you, who served as nothing more than a replacement for—."

I didn't hear the rest, as I was grabbed by the wrist and yanked away at an impressive speed.

I looked up at Link in shock. He looked the angriest I'd ever seen him, and that included that first day in the forest.

"Hey, where are you going?" Drake called from behind us as Sabrina laughed out loud. "We were just trying to make conversation!"

Link ignored them, and yanked me along faster toward dorm 3-G.

When we finally got there, he dropped my wrist and stepped away as if I had spontaneously developed a very bad case of BO.

"Stay as far away from them as possible, Zelda." He warned darkly. "Don't even talk to them, I mean it."

I stared at him, teeth grit, eyes sharp; a mess of seething anger and frustration, yet there was something sad in his eyes. Guilt… or uncertainty? Grief… or anguish? I didn't know.

"What was that all about?" I asked softly, not wanting to anger him more.

He sucked in an angry breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes squeezed shut. "Drake doesn't know a damned thing." He muttered to himself.

I waited for him to calm down. Slowly, he opened his eyes again.

"Who are they?" I asked. "How do they know who we are?"

"As far as I know, they work for Dragmire. Other than that, I really don't know much about them."

"They _work _for him?" I repeated, eyes wide.

He nods and hands me my bag.

"Just… stay away from them." He warns again. Before I could ask anything further, he turned away, and left me standing alone next to my dorm.

"…Replacement?" I asked myself out loud, feeling a sharp pang in my chest.

_What could that mean? _I wondered briefly._ How on earth could I be any sort of replacement? And for what?_

It made no sense to me. Who could I possibly replace? I was aware I meant nothing to Link; the only reason he protects me is because he has to.

Another chilly breeze interrupted my thoughts as it picked up the ends of my hair and threw it at my face and into my mouth. I shivered and decided it was time go inside.

The literal second I stepped inside the building, I was practically mauled by Anju. She squeezed me until I could barely breathe before releasing me again.

"Sorry," She said with a jaunty giggle. "I'm a hugger."

I didn't say anything and concentrated on trying to breathe again.

"Speaking of which," She crossed her arms and tried to scowl at me; though the expression looked all wrong on her perky face. "No more going into the forest! That guy told me how you fell down that hill and whatever!"

I stared at my somewhat scatter-brained dorm advisor, trying to find the connection between her being a hugger and my now-revoked forest privileges. I shook my head, giving up. "Look Anju, I'm really sorry that I sort of went missing there for a while but—."

"But nothing!" Anju cut me off. "Zelda, you could've broken a bone or something and no one would've been there to help! How awful do you think that would be, lying out there with broken bones for hours, waiting for the search team to find you?" She shuddered at the thought.

I was going to point out that she'd more than likely lose her job as well, but doubted it would help my situation, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Moreover," She continued, starting to pace. "Who knows what kind of wildlife is out there? Who knows what kind of diet they have?"

_You have no idea… _I think, with a small shudder.

I follow her pacing with my eyes and sigh. "But Anju, I really like going there to draw. And you _were_ the one who said I shouldn't let anyone stifle my creativity."

Now that I knew who I was, I also knew how important that forest was and why I was so drawn to it. I wasn't about to give it up yet, despite what had last happened there.

Anju stopped walking and sucked in her cheeks nervously. "I guess I did." She admitted.

"Not letting me go there anymore would be doing exactly that." I pointed out.

She nibbled at her bottom lip, torn between her beliefs and her responsibilities.

Anju let out a big dramatic sigh. "Fine. Fine! You can still go there but," She held up one finger, as if to say _Now here's the kicker! _"You must, and I repeat _must_, have someone with you at all times."

I grumbled something incoherent to myself before nodding reluctantly. "Alright. Sounds fair."

She nods back. "Good." Her normally cheerful face finally breaks out into a big smile. "I'm glad you're okay."

I return the smile, if a bit strained. "I'm pretty happy about that myself."

Anju laughs and gives my shoulder a pat. "Alright, you better get back upstairs. Malon and Karane have been freaking out since you didn't come back on Friday." Her face soured slightly at the memory.

I groan as she walks off. I'd forgotten about them.

It takes me a few minutes to gather enough courage to actually go up to my dorm room door and stick my key in the lock.

I pull open the door to find Malon and Karane, sitting on Malon's bed and nibbling on a colossal bowl of popcorn, and watching some romantic comedy on the tiny flat-screen TV Malon had bought a while back.

Upon my opening the door, both of my red-headed friends snapped their heads away from the screen and onto me.

"Zellie!" They yelled in unison, both jumping up to greet me in bone-crushing hugs.

"You klutz!" Malon scolded once the two of them were finished suffocating me. "Falling down a big hill in the forest? Really, what were you thinking leaving the trail?"

"You went _off _the trail?" Karane gasped. "You idiot! That's dangerous!"

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, mom."

They both folded their arms across their chests angrily as I pushed past the two of them and started unpacking my bag.

"We just worry for you Zellie," Karane said from behind me. "You're almost as tiny as Sari."

"And _she _doesn't wander the woods all alone!"

I snorted and they both scowled like mothers about to scold their children.

"Next time, bring a buddy." Malon urged. "I'll gladly go if it'll keep you out of the emergency room."

"Me too!" Karane volunteered.

The room felt heavy. It was clear they were serious about this. I had really freaked both of them out by not returning on Friday.

I bit my lip. I hated keeping things from them; I had no idea how the others were able to do it for so long.

"Oh!" Malon suddenly gasped, breaking the tension. A sly smile appeared on her lips, and her eyes seemed to light up. "How'd you like my little 'present' for your slumber party?"

"Present?" Karane asked, her copper brow furrowed in confusion.

I pulled the shorts out of the bag and held them up for Karane to see. Her eyes scanned the writing on the butt and she erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Oh my great Nayru, Mal!" She laughed as I whipped the shorts at Malon. "You are too cruel!"

Malon giggled in reply, brushing the tiny shorts off her shoulder. "I was just trying to push things along!"

Shaking my head, I reached over and smacked her upside the head.

"Ow!" She moaned melodramatically. "Zellie-pooh, that hurt!"

"Good!" I snapped.

* * *

It took over a week for Link to finally decide I was ready for self defense.

_"Just be ready by three-thirty and I'll pick you up."_ He'd said, wearing that bored expression as he often did. _"Wear something you can move in."_

I sighed quietly and tightened my high pony-tail.

I hadn't ever really been much of an athlete; therefore there was a stunning lack of athletic wear in my wardrobe. I had to make do with my ratty sweat pants—which also happened to be the only pair I owned— and a simple t-shirt bearing the phrase _'Your Lack of Bacon Disturbs Me'_. Glancing in the mirror, I was perfectly aware that the outfit wasn't all that flattering. I'd even boldly say I looked pretty frumpy.

I frowned at my reflection. Malon would be disappointed.

I briefly contemplated swapping the shirt with that cute stretchy camisole I'd had for a while, but didn't often find use for. But then my senses returned to me and I remembered I didn't need to impress anyone, much less _Link_.

There was a small knock on the door that startled me out of my thoughts.

I walked over to the door and yanked it open.

Link stood leaning against in the doorway, face neutral, arms crossed over his broad chest.

You know what's incredibly irritating? That this guy can manage to still look great in sweats and a simple t-shirt, while I'm barely passable in the same attire. You know what's worse? That I'm actually admiring him for it.

"Ready?" He asks, a small smile appearing on his mouth when he reads my shirt.

I blushed, self-consciously tugging at the hem of the tee. "Yeah… I guess."

He nodded his head in the direction of the hall. "Then let's go."

* * *

I felt the heavy feeling of dread in the depths of my gut as we approached the forest behind the school.

"Zelda?" Link asked, turning to glance at me. "I just want to warn you, we're going to meet someone who might scare you."

I swallowed thickly.

"He's harmless, though." He added, giving a vague gesture over his shoulder to the woods looming before us.

I nodded and clenching my t-shirt in my fists nervously. My last encounter with this forest had unfortunately not wiped itself from my brain yet, so I could help but feel my skin crawl more with every step I took toward the somewhat dreary woods.

"So this… guy I'm going to meet," I began, stepping over a fallen tree branch in the path. "Um, what's he like?"

He thought about it for a moment. "He's creepy, but that's what he wants to be."

"…creepy?" I repeated.

He nodded.

"How creepy?" I asked, just so I can be prepared before I meet this oh-so-spectral forest dweller.

There wasn't even enough time to answer said question before an eerie giggle echoed through the woods.

I froze, grabbing hold of the back of Link's sweater.

"W-what was that?" I asked, eyes wide.

Link smirks. "Him." He answers just as a small figure materializes before us.

It was small enough to be a child, but it was creepy enough to have stepped straight out of a horror movie. It dressed in crudely-sewn clothing that looked to be constructed purely of leaves, with a ratty straw hat sitting atop its round head. Its skin was sickly blue with strange, intricate symbols painted on with white face paint. Its eyes stood out immensely from the rest of it, as they were gold trapped in a startling ring of maroon and nearly twice the size they should be. In its hands, it held two things; a lantern admitting a blue light, and a bizarre horn instrument.

It stared at me, mouth curled into a perpetual grin that revealed two rows of sharp, almost shark-like teeth.

Not wanting to be rude, I fought the urge to scream in terror at the creature in front of me.

The thing let out another ghostly giggle and disappeared in a small flurry of leaves.

"Ehee hee hee! Follow me!" His voice crowed from some unknown place.

I stayed frozen, fingers locked onto the back of Link's sweater.

"Would you kindly let go of my jacket?" He asked flatly, snapping me out of my shocked state. "Skull Kid won't wait forever."

I let go, but don't move an inch from where I stood.

I was scared. No, I was _terrified_. I would've been fine if we hadn't run into another supernatural creature, but now I was too scared to move. Now my imagination was summoning all of my deepest nightmares and placing them in this forest.

I stiffly clutched my hands at my sides and swallowed thickly.

_What if Dragmire has more monsters waiting for me? _

I closed my eyes and shivered.

_What if I get lost?_

Bile rose in my throat.

_What if—?_

Something slid into my left hand, warm and reassuring. Another hand?

I opened my eyes to find that Link had taken my hand.

In an instant, all of the cold dread drained from my body, leaving warmth and safety in its wake.

"You alright?" He asked softly.

I blinked. This was probably the nicest he'd ever been toward me since we'd met. A warm feeling bloomed in my chest as a result.

He stared, blue eyes boring into mine, waiting for an answer.

I nodded mutely, not wanting to ruin the moment.

He studied my face carefully before he shook his head. "I want to hear you say it."

I gulped, feeling like an idiot for being so scared. After all, I'd been bothering him all week to take me here to train, and now I was going to wimp out. I suddenly felt incredibly childish.

"I'm… um, I'm okay…" I mumbled, blushing.

Link raised a sceptical brow at me, seemingly unconvinced; then shook his head, having given up on me. "Let's go then, Skull Kid's probably long gone by now."

Link didn't release my hand; instead he pulled me along with him to the faint glow of Skull Kid's lantern, further off the path and deeper into the thick forest.

It seemed like we walked for hours – but in truth it was probably only a few minutes– before found ourselves in a small grove with a huge, stone structure covered in a century's worth of moss.

Skull Kid let out another one of those giggles and disappeared into another little flurry of leaves.

"That was fun! Let's play again soon! Ehee hee hee!" His high-pitched voice faded into an echo, and everything became still and quiet.

"What is this place?" I asked, gazing at the colossal wall in awe and breaking the silence.

A small smile curved on Link's lips. "You'll see…" He said vaguely, tugging me towards to huge wall.

I cocked my head at him questioningly, but followed without resistance.

As we approached one of the mossy walls, something strange happened. A large arch of light appeared on the surface, cutting clean through the moss.

I felt a short gasp escape my lips as I—without thinking—pressed myself closer to Link.

The white light the wall was emitting faded away finally, leaving behind an entrance into the huge, ruined building.

I let out a long-repressed "wow" and swallowed. "What… what is this place?" I repeated dumbly.

He didn't answer, but silently tugged me through the large arch which had once been solid stone.

Immediately after entering the ruins, the atmosphere changed almost completely. It felt light, pure; untouched by any sort of corruption.

Ivy and moss crept up the crumbling remains of the large stone walls. The ceiling had long ago eroded away with age, as I could clearly see the clear blue sky and sunlight dance through the bare tree branches above. Ahead of me towered the remains of another huge arch, though there wasn't much left of it besides the eroded stone and the metal wires that once served as foundation for the structure.

I stepped into the wire-arch cautiously, wondering if there were any traps waiting for me on the other side. And that's when I saw it.

I knew immediately what it was the moment I rested my eyes on it.

The tip was lodged in a pedestal which bore the same design as my birthmark. The stunning silver blade gleamed in the daylight, its shiny surface looking cold and dangerous. The deep purple hilt braided with ribbons of emerald green looked both well-worn and untouched at the same time. Two wing-like appendages knifed out of the sides of the hilt, just below the blade. I stared, almost unable to comprehend what I was seeing.

"No way…" I murmured to myself, edging closer to the sword. "Here?"

"Yeah. Here." Link called from behind me.

He strolled up next to me and smiled at my awed expression. "Surprised?"

I blinked, and nodded. "Yeah, I mean, it's the frigging Master Sword. The bane of evil, the blade of legend… I'm looking at the long-lost artifact archaeologists have been searching for decades. My mind is way beyond blown." I admitted.

He chuckled softly. "I felt the same way when I came to see it the first time."

I cracked a smile and wrung out my hands in front of me idly. "I can't really imagine that."

His eyebrow rose. "Oh?"

I nodded. "You're almost always freakishly calm, except for…" My voice died off.

_Except for when the girl is mentioned. _

"Except for when Drake is around," I said instead, blushing.

"That guy," He said stiffly. "Really knows how to piss people off."

I nodded.

Truer words had never been spoken. Drake seemed to live to provoke people, Link especially.

"So if the sword is here," I said, changing the subject. "then that makes here the Temple of Time, right?"

He nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"You plan to train me here," I guessed. "In a long-lost, sacred temple?"

Link shrugged. "I figure the goddesses won't mind, considering that we're only training you for the greater good."

I laughed shortly. "I suppose."

"Speaking of which," He murmured behind me. "Here."

I turned in time to catch a long thin object that he'd tossed my way.

It was a long, slender blade with a delicate gold hilt. I pulled it out of its plain leather sheath and watched it glimmer in the sunlight.

"It's yours."

"Mine?" I asked, carefully turning the blade around in my hands.

Link nodded, and unsheathed his own blade. "Well, let's not waste anymore time." He strode in front of me and opened his arms wide.

"Now, come at me."

* * *

**I'll be honest. Even after revising and redoing this chapter God-knows how many times, I'm still in something of a love-hate relationship with it. It's kinda all over the place, but at the same time like ****_nothing _****happened… I know, confusing. I may come back to it later and tweak a few things, so if the next chapter confuses you (When it comes out, of course) try rereading this one to see if I changed it. :)**

**And I'm sorry, but I really can't reply to EVERYONE'S review this time, (Or this note at the end will be longer than the chapter) because you wonderful people gave me a grand total of 19 reviews last time. I mean, HOLY SHAT! That's AWESOME!**

**LauParisi— I cannot even begin to tell you how much I laughed when I read this review. Floating glowy blue smurf pajamas? Seriously, it still manages to get a chuckle out me even now XD. Why are all the best guys fictional? Now that is a question I've asking myself since hormones first reared its ugly head in my life. Heh, I'm happy you noticed that I've tried to keep any sort of protectiveness from our mighty fine Hero subtle rather than just flat out declaring it. An observant one you are… **

**Celeste Fox— Refrain from glaring at your text wall, it brought me much joy! I'm totally okay with hearing creative criticism about my writing, as long as you aren't rude about it, which you most certainly weren't! I do really want to send Zelda down the 'strong heroine' route, so she definitely won't continue to need to be saved for the whole story. I just wanted to highlight her normality by making her rather powerless to the strange things that are suddenly being thrust her way. She will learn to take care of herself; that is a promise I hope to keep :). Also, I don't know if Link has any testosterone. Remember Ocarina of Time? The dude had his own frigging harem and he didn't even seem to notice...**

**Katia0203— hehe. Keese are the bane of every Zelda gamer, aren't they? Those little bastards will not only send you plummeting to your untimely death in lava, but they'll burn your wooden shield too! Pure. Evil.**

**MrSnowmanJoe— Nah, beating him senseless and then eating his mangled remains for dinner is just sadistic enough :P. You may be right though, perhaps our little Zellie did break her triforce… **

**TalesGameSeriesLover— Awesomewritingitis, huh? Do you think I can miss school for that?**

**P.S. I just wonder how much gel it takes to get that pompadour to stick straight up like that... **

**PrincessZeldaWolf— I'm happy you like the personalities I chose for my characters :). I rather like clichés when they're in moderation, don't you? Glad you enjoyed the metaphorical cookies! :D**

**Cerberuswolf— I wrote zee clichés! I am shamed! Lol. You thought you were red? When I wrote it, I put tomatoes to shame...**

**Arcane Valor— t'is nice to meet another fellow fangirl!**

**Also, thanks to: SxDsX, burning book, svvya, Azulhada, NaruHinaforever, tentsubasa, Leina16, Zelinkkkkkkk, me, Me (No, I didn't make a mistake, those are two different people) and the anonymous guests for all of your lovely reviews. And clap for the awesome peeps who followed and favorited A New Legend! **

**Did you know, total bullshit studies that I just now made up show that you actually become 40% awesomer when you review? Who knew?**


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